No law against lots of children

I'd have to reserve judgement on this family until I know what's going on with the kids - I don't mind supporting families with lots of kids if they are going to make the world a better place.

Of course you can't tell someone who has a bunch of kids that end up being a drain on society to stop having them either. I much as I wish you could.

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No law against lots of children

Aug 12 2005
By Louise Redvers, The Evening Chronicle

A mum-of-15 who claims £49,000 ($88,925 USD) a year in benefits has hit back at claims her family are scroungers.

Woof, that's a lot of cabbage. In the US, the most recent census (2000) shows that the average household income rate is $42,873, with the highest being in a little over $55,000 in Alaska, a state known for its inflation. See: http://www.census.gov/statab/ranks/rank33.xls

Average annual pay for 2002 is $36,764, with the highest being just under $58,000 in DC (income and pay are not the same because people get Social Security benefits, alimony, child support, income from the sale of stocks and other property, etc.). In any event, all of these numbers are way lower than the almost $89,000 this family is getting.

Poverty thresholds in the US in 1999 (it was the most recent article I could find) meant an income of just over $32,000 for a family of nine, eight of whom would be kids. See: http://www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/threshld/thresh99.html Multiplying that times 2 (for 18 people or, one more than are in the current household) brings you to just over $64,000. But we have to take into account the two children with problems, so the award this family has is probably okay in terms of the calculations that the agency performs. I'm sure it's true that it's not enough to feed all of those people.

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Jobless Margaret Wilson says all the Government money she receives is stretched to feed and clothe her children.

She has eight sons and seven daughters, 13 of whom live with her in her four-bedroom council house in Amhurst Road, Fawdon, Newcastle.

Where is Child Services in all of this? Or at least the Fire Department? There are too many people in that home and it is probably a hazard for all.

The 41-year-old, who grew up in Cowgate, sleeps on the sofa in the front room with her partner Eric while her kids fight over bed space upstairs.

See, now, if Eric could get off the couch and sleep upstairs every now and then, .... You get the idea.

The family are: Gary, 21, Lisa, 17, William, 15, Tony, 13, Tracey, 12, Steven, 10, Sophie, nine, Shaun, eight, Carly, seven Chloe, six, Ryan, five, Courtney, four, Nathan, three, and year-old twins Jordan and Jamie.

There hasn't been a year without a pregnancy or a least one child in diapers since before the eldest was conceived.

William has recently become a parent himself and lives next door with his 17-year-old girlfriend and their daughter Amy, nine months.

Check the numbers. William is 15. This means that his child was conceived when he was 14. And so the cycle repeats itself. At this rate, we can expect, in the next five years, for three of the other kids to become parents (maybe even as many as four of the other kids), plus William would have a second or even a third child if the rate holds true, and Gary would also have one or two more kids.

Gary has two daughters Chantelle, two and Natalie, four months.

His first kid was conceived when he was 18. His mother, in contrast, conceived her first child when she was 20. So Gary's ahead of Mom, but not ahead of William.

Margaret has been with Eric, also unemployed, for 13 years.

Since they've been together for 13 years, there are three or four kids who are not Eric's. Where is their father or fathers in all of this? Where's the child support? Gary is over 18 but Lisa, William and Tony (who, given the numbers, may or may not be Eric's) are not. Who's supporting them? Why isn't the government going after their dad or dads?

And, good ole unemployment -- why isn't the government at least making a passing effort to get at least Eric working?

Each week the family get £619 ($1123. USD) child tax credit, £165 ($299. USD) child benefit, £58 ($105 USD) carer's allowance for Stephen and Tony who have attention deficit disorder, £37 ($67. USD) income support and £61 ($110. USD) housing benefit. That is £4,073 ($7391. USD) a month - significantly more than the average monthly salary of £1,833 ($3326. USD).

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"They get through so much food I have to do tea at three sittings. We don't have a dining room table, so they have it on their laps or on the floor in the front room.

Again, where is Child Welfare in all of this? If there is no dining room table, then where are the kids doing their homework? How clean is the home if food is eaten in several rooms?

"I'm not a scrounger. There is no law about having lots of kids.

True, but there are laws against abuse and neglect.

"I've thought about contraception. The doctor even gave me the pill once and told me to take it on the first day of my next period, but I didn't have a next period because I was pregnant.

Once? Sheesh. This gal clearly thinks some things through. Why the heck can't she think through birth control? And where is her doctor, anyway? If the pill doesn't work, why didn't he or she talk to her about having her tubes tied, a vasectomy for Eric, a diaphragm, the morning-after pill, a cervical cap or just spending a few bucks and buying (and using) condoms?!??!! Or, here's a wild concept, crossing her legs or telling ole Eric to keep it in his shorts?!?!??!? Sorry if that's crass, but where is the medical community in all of this? Surely she is getting prenatal care (if not, at least in the US, she'd be up on abuse and neglect charges once a child was born), so it's not like she's totally isolated from the medical community.

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Chain-smoking Margaret spoke as she was surrounded by her children, one still asleep on the armchair from the night before. She said: "He's got ADHD and I gave him some tablets just before 4am, so he'll be knocked out for a while. He fell asleep on the chair, I didn't think I should move him."

That's rich. In 2003 (the most recent year I could find), cigarettes in the UK cost about £3.50. See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3206440.stm I went to look at Ocado's website for groceries (there was a site for Tesco, but I didn't want to register) and learned that a package of everyday loose tea is about £1.85, or just over 1/2 the price of a package of smokes.

As for the kid with ADHD, once again, I repeat, where the hell is Child Services in all of this? Is she just knocking out her kids rather than dealing with them? At minimum, Child Welfare should be following up on the kids with disabilities.

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Eric added: "They keep giving us excuses that they don't have the money but this house is too small for our family."

No, you keep giving excuses as to why you keep having more children. Go watch TV or go for a walk every now and then when you get the urge, instead of fulfilling that urge, and then talk to me about excuses and also talk to me about why you should be deciding where (and how much) governmental agencies should be spending other people's tax dollars.

Margaret was one of five girls and has 12 nieces and nephews with one on the way.

"I always wanted a big family, I planned to have six but somehow I've ended up with 15," she said.

Most of us have (or don't have) kids based, in part, upon economics. A desire for a large family should be inextricably linked with a desire to provide for said family.

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