I want to be a single mum.

[TheJigsaw]

Im talking about jeremy kyle here and Ive had it up to here with hearing young girls say they want to have babies but don't need the father there and plan a horrible short sighted life for her and the baby not realising that lifes pretty rough out there.

I know this would never happen and many women have been helped and not abused the social and housing system but lets just hypothetically say if this country never had an available social and housing system that young girls could rely on as their sole source of help and Income how much lower would the stats for teenage and unwanted pregnancies be especially if these girls could look up to their mums sisters friends that have actually struggled for survival in this non social/housing world of mine and nearly never made it?
Would their views be different if they new that when they got pregnant they would have to rely on friends and family for food and shelter otherwise be homeless and begging?

Is'nt his is what happens in countrys without social/housing systems?

How does other countrys teenage/unwanted baby stats especially the ones in poor countrys compare to ours?

Thoughts?

[jake-the-peg]

You have to remember that researchers on programs like that have gone out to find the worst cases they can find in order to put them on TV specifically to prompt reactions like that.

It's a TV freak show - they get ratings from making people feel angry and superior at the same time.

Frankly I'm not sure who's being manipulated more the "guests" or the audience!

[Charisse2]

I truly believe that we need to better educate our children about sex, family and responsibility. I wish that there were money available to fund programmes whereby a "lifelike baby" is given to teens. The object of the exercise is to let them see what it would be like to care for a baby. They need to be shown that it is not all play and smiles. It is a huge responsibility. We do need the population to grow, but I do not think that early teens should "aspire" to having children because they want to "play house".

[patsyann]

Everything is made too easy for certain young Girls who have no desire to work for a decent future before thinking of having a Family. I have heard them myself saying that their plan was to get pregnant go on the social and get a flat.Then everything is paid for by us the Tax payers. It should all stop forthwith.It was never all available years ago. This country needs a complete re-think on handing out money for nothing in all walks of life including housing benefit to all and sundry. This country needs a coalition government.

[B00]

"How does other countrys teenage/unwanted baby stats especially the ones in poor countrys compare to ours?"

They have more orphanages? And if that's the case your taxes would still be swallowed up.

[daffy654]

Patsyann,what do you mean by years ago?
I know for as fact that 25 years ago during the Conservative government period that there were girls in the area I lived in who deliberately got pregnant to get themselves on the council housing list.

[patsyann]

daffy by years ago I am talking about the 60's when I had young children.We had our Family allowance,but mostly we were married and worked , or rather our Husbands did to provide food and rent.We did not expect it to all be provided for us.Now it is all on offer so easily and does not just provide the basics ,but luxury living provided by those who pay their taxes and work hard. It is so wrong.

[whiskeryron]

I think that possibly there could be renovated older houses made available for single mums, these houses would be named 'Single Mum House' & the girls would be housed & fed & helped with their babies. In return they would have to work in the community to help repay taxpayers money spent on them. After all, students have loans that they have to repay.I must repeat once again what has been stated many times,it used to be a fact that young couples ( boys & girls) waited until they were married before they took on the (these days questionable) RESPONSIBILITIES of bringing up children.

[karenmac60]

Did they not used to have that and call it the workhouse?

[coccinelle]

In France, teenage pregnant girls go for abortions, is that better?

[karenmac60]

I was a single mother for 6 years. I had waited till I was married before I had a child, but my husband became abusive and ended up hitting me and I had no choice but to leave him. I worked part time but I didn't earn much and got absolutely no financial help from my husband. I would not have been able to support myself and my daughter on what little money I had coming into the house. Yes I could've got a full time job but then who would have looked after my child? I got help in the form of tax credits and while I was hardly rolling in money, I was just about able to pay my bills and feed us. If you had it your way, I would've been slung in some house with a label hung round my neck, doing skivvy work for the privilege of existing - or should my daughter have been taken into care? You can't tar all single mothers with the same brush and you can't make help available to some but not to others - would you prefer they means test for morals, and if they are 'decent' and come up to your standard they get help, but if not they can rot?

[jb190281]

I think there was a mention during the last Labour party conference, of some idea to set up a 'hostel' (not sure of the wording he used) for teenage single mothers - an answer for those particular individuals who think that getting pregnant will get them a council house. And it still happens - I work for a local authority and see it often.

[Sandy-Wroe]

A young single mother living in a council house would probably still need support from her family. When all the costs of running a home were taken into account there wouldn't be much left for luxuries.

[whiskeryron]

My sincere apologies to you karenmac60, when I posted my comments I was referring to the girls previously mentioned who deliberately get themselves pregnant in order to be given council property, I suppose there would haveto be some sort of testing to weed them out, but I still think that something should be done.