The headline of your article, “Benefit limit is worsening child poverty, charities say”, speaks for itself, but nowhere in the ensuing text are the responsibilities of parents mentioned (Report, December 4).
Children are not born of their own volition and people bringing children into the world have an absolute duty to supply for them. Nowhere does the article cite matters such as that of educating people as to their responsibilities for their children nor providing prospective parents with an indication of the ongoing expense that will be incurred in raising them.
The state already provides healthcare and education for children, but it cannot be expected to do everything, so it is perhaps not surprising that the two main political parties preserve the current policy. Instead of spending more money on child benefit, it might be better spent on explaining parental responsibilities to young people.
Currently we are subject to a barrage of advertisements for smart meters explaining how the more appliances we use for longer, the more it will cost (apparently not a lot of people know that). How about some publicity pointing out that children cost money — a lot of money?
John Murray
Guildford, UK
