poverty link to kids tv habits

panther · 16-07-2007, 11:16

Poverty Link To Children's TV Habits |Sky News|UK News

erm my kids have telly in thier rooms and i wouldnt class myself as in poverty!!

they say every bedroom has a television for children and many have a computer, cant be that much in poverty if they can afford telly and a computer!
And they also had greater levels of unsupervised access to television and the internet......................cheeky sods!

West Ender · 16-07-2007, 15:21

My granddaughter doesn't have a telly in her room because her room is for sleeping, and sometimes playing, not for watching TV. My grandson has one in his room at home now, and a computer. He bought them both himself - he's 21 and at University. He didn't have one until he was 16.

Incidentally, though I wouldn't call us a "poor" family, we're certainly not rich.

Lilly · 16-07-2007, 15:43

[quote=West Ender;449754]My granddaughter doesn't have a telly in her room because her room is for sleeping, and sometimes playing, not for watching TV.

I agree.My kids don't have televisions in their rooms for the same reasons.They're only young and I fear if I put tvs in their rooms they'd be putting it on at all hours,maybe even in the night.They're too young to be allowed to control their own viewing so we only have 1 tv in our house and it's downstairs so we can monitor exactly when it's on.

fc:stanley · 16-07-2007, 16:31

Ive always had a tv in my room and did from a very young age , im not poor or rich, but dont usually watch it upstairs only at night if needed

SPUGGIE J · 16-07-2007, 16:32

I am completely lost with this. I have seen kids in families with both parents working and having less than those who are on the so called poverty line. Mind you when the system is set up in such a way that those out of work with 3 kids are better off than both in work with 3 kids something is wrong.

WillowTheWhisp · 16-07-2007, 17:04

Poverty? TV? How can the two words be in the same sentence?

flashy · 16-07-2007, 17:25

this thread baffled me too

garinda · 16-07-2007, 17:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

Poverty? TV? How can the two words be in the same sentence?

Credit and debt?

West Ender · 16-07-2007, 18:05

There is a, so called, poverty line and I am continually reading about British children whose existence falls below it but this latest argument, in itself, denies that. There are those who don't work or who earn very small wages but, though ready cash may be in short supply at times, few go short of such "essentials" as TV sets.

I don't wish to accuse those who are genuinely struggling but I witness, daily, people (usually young women with several children) arriving at the local tax office demanding emergency payments of Tax Credits. "There's no food in the house", is an often heard complaint but half an hour later you'll see them in town eating a Big Mac while talking on their mobile phone.

That's poverty?

beechy · 17-07-2007, 05:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by West Ender

There is a, so called, poverty line and I am continually reading about British children whose existence falls below it but this latest argument, in itself, denies that. There are those who don't work or who earn very small wages but, though ready cash may be in short supply at times, few go short of such "essentials" as TV sets.

I don't wish to accuse those who are genuinely struggling but I witness, daily, people (usually young women with several children) arriving at the local tax office demanding emergency payments of Tax Credits. "There's no food in the house", is an often heard complaint but half an hour later you'll see them in town eating a Big Mac while talking on their mobile phone.

That's poverty?

quite correct poverty has become a state of mind
many kids go short of food and raggy arsked
whilst parents have money for fags and beer

lettie · 17-07-2007, 06:49

I have to agree with Westender. I worked for 9 years in the community, doing health checks in people's homes. Many families had the latest TVs, mobiles, game stations etc, even though neither parent worked????? Something is sadly wrong with the system when working parents cannot afford those things. The poorest families were those who earned a couple of quid more than the cut off for supplimentary benefits and were not entitled to claim anything. There were no mod cons in these houses..

WillowTheWhisp · 17-07-2007, 07:09

The problem with some of those people is that they do not realise the difference between a need and a want and they don't know how to prioritise.

Several years ago I knew a young teenage girl who got pregnant and expected brand new everything for her baby. Her mother bought her a second hand (beautiful) moses basket but it wasn't good enough because she wanted brand new.