Slow down mummy~

This is a repost**** It will seem like new to you though, only two read it the last time.



Slow down mummy, there is no need to rush, slow down mummy, what is all the fuss? Slow down mummy, make yourself a cup tea. Slow down mummy, come and spend some time with me. Slow down mummy, let's put our boots on and go out for a walk, let's kick at piles of leaves, and smile and laugh and talk. Slow down mummy, you look ever so tired, come sit and snuggle under the duvet and rest with me a while. Slow down mummy, those dirty dishes can wait, slow down mummy, let's have some fun, let's bake a cake! Slow down mummy I know you work a lot, but sometimes mummy, its nice when you just stop. Sit with us a minute, & listen to our day, spend a cherished moment, because our childhood is not here to stay!

x Poem by Rebekah Knight at https://www.facebook.com/slowdownmummy1

APRIL 15, 2013 | EDUCATION, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
THE FACE OF AMERICAN POVERTY TODAY

Are you a single mom? Have a job? You’re probably poor.

Part 1 of a 3-Part Series

By Amanda L. Freeman

"Leaning in" and smashing glass ceilings are great goals—but they are the last things on the minds of 27 million American women struggling just to hang on to their homes and feed their kids. These women make up the demographic that is the most likely to be poor in the U.S.: the single mom.

But here's the surprising thing: Most of those single moms are working. They remain mired in poverty because they tend to have low-wage jobs without benefits or opportunities for advancement—and because the U.S. has one of the skimpiest social safety nets in the western world. And the Great Recession has only made things worse.

snip

Single mom = poor kids

Through this Great Recession, the arms of poverty stretched far and wide, beyond inner cities and rural areas like Appalachia. Hunger is not just the third world problem; only three other countries in the developed world—Mexico, Chile and Turkey—have a higher child poverty rate than the United States.

Single mothers are the most likely demographic group to be poor. And half of all mothers will spend some time as sole parents, though many didn't plan on it. Around 47 percent of kids living with a single mother are poor, four times the poverty rate for the children of married couples, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

For a single mother and a child, the poverty line hovers around $15,000, which roughly coincides with the minimum wage in most states. Making things worse, millions more earn just above the poverty line, disqualifying them for benefit programs. Meghan, a low-income single mom from rural Pennsylvania, felt hopeless when her family was rejected for public assistance because their income was seven dollars over the state guideline. "We were working so hard, but we just couldn’t pay the bills every month," she says.

snip

Read More

http://womenintheworld.org/stories/entry/the-face-of-american-poverty-today

The poem, like the story makes me want to weep because...

"Hunger is not just the third world problem; only three other countries in the developed world—Mexico, Chile and Turkey—have a higher child poverty rate than the United States

What the hell is wrong with us!