Join us on twitterThe lament you often hear from non-residential parents is that they want to see their children more, while residential parents often say they want the other parent to see their children more.
If this is the case, you have to wonder why it doesn’t happen.
Is there really such a thing as a good divorce?
Divorce isn’t something that people do lightly. You don’t just wake up one morning and say to yourself “What will I do today? I know, I think I’ll get divorced.” Most people go through a long and agonising process of trying to make their relationship work before deciding that it’s a better option for everybody, kids included, if they split up.
When will government agencies like Centrelink learn how to communicate properly?
In the next instalment in my son’s Centrelink saga, he is now getting his youth allowance payment. After initially rejecting his claim, they’re now throwing money at him. With all the back pay, he received quite a large initial lump sum payment. More money than he’s ever seen in his life, and of course it’s burning a hole in his pocket.
Dole bludgers. Welfare recipients. No work ethic. “Single mothers!”
All these terms – and the attitude that goes with them – appear to be making a comeback.
Sole Parents’ Union has asked the question before on what makes a father.
Is it a social relationship, a biological one, or is your father the person who is married to your mother?
There’s a case going on in the US now, where a woman has filed a suit in New York seeking that the name of her father be removed from her birth certificate.
“Your claim for Youth Allowance has been rejected.
“Our records show we did not receive the information we requested from you, and as a result a decision has been made that your claim for Youth Allowance has not been successful. Information about what to do if you think this decision is wrong is on the back of this letter.”
That’s the letter my son received from Centrelink. Part of it anyway. The part that says he’s been rejected and all the information it gives about about why.
Sole Parents’ Union opposed the changes that were introduced in 2006 to encourage shared care.
Don’t get us wrong – we’re not against parents taking responsibility for their children, we think that’s a great idea. And we think most parents are capable of at least giving it a go.
But we are opposed to putting women and children (and men) at risk of violence and abuse by a de facto presumption of equal custody.
I was in a Centrelink office the other day. Now, some might say that because I’m a single mother this is nothing unusual. But I haven’t had any personal dealings with Centrelink for years.
And after this experience, I can say I’m very glad
Some days are diamonds, others you just want to curl up in a ball and not get out of bed.
And this week has been one of those – coals that is, not diamonds.
While looking for something else on you tube I came across this “bitter film”. Beware, it is styled correctly. It’s a great ad for the saying “be careful what you do immediately following a break up”.
But it got me to thinking – do men and women even speak the same language? We all know that communication is important in a relationship, but how can we communicate when the person we’re speaking to is hearing something different to what we’re actually saying?