It appears that Eleanor Talbot possesses an uncanny ability to predict the future, given her letter advocating for the two-child cap on benefits (8 August). While it’s true that most parents consider their financial situation before having children, life can throw unexpected challenges their way. Disability, the loss of a partner, or unemployment can occur after conception, and we need a system to support all families in times of hardship, regardless of their size.
Furthermore, it is important to recognize that children are not responsible for the circumstances they are born into, and they shouldn’t bear the brunt of their parents’ choices. Engaging in debates about who is to blame for their upbringing does nothing to change the fact that every child has needs that must be met. Condemning families with more children to a lifetime of poverty is not a just punishment. It condemns over a million children to a life of poverty or deeper into it, simply because they have siblings.
No child deserves to grow up in poverty and destitution. Every child deserves a childhood free from this burden, and it should move us to outrage that this is not the case. Tony Blair had promised to eradicate child poverty by 2020. With the right political will, we can make this a reality now.
Kathleen Foster
Bordon, Hampshire
While Eleanor Talbot raises valid points regarding parental responsibilities, she overlooks several realities. Not all women in the UK have the freedom to choose whether to become pregnant or become parents. Women who have experienced trauma, adverse childhood experiences, and disrupted family lives often lack autonomy and agency, especially in regards to their own bodies. Pregnancy and having children can provide opportunities for nurture and attention that these women may not have received otherwise, and it is understandable that they seek that.
I am glad that Eleanor Talbot had support and thrived as a single parent, but it is important to remember that our individual experiences cannot be applied universally as a compassionate or useful response for others, or as a basis for policy decisions.
Claire Edwards
Edinburgh
I was deeply saddened to read Eleanor Talbot’s letter. It echoes the heartless rhetoric of the austerity measures imposed by the government. Thousands of children are trapped in poverty, against their will. They are the ones bearing the brunt of these circumstances. None of them asked to be born, yet they endure the suffering.
Linda Theobald
London
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