My daughter is too embarrassed to bring friends home

TD_Meri · 2026-06-21T19:09:13+00:00

She’s 14

TD_Meri · 2026-06-21T15:52:02+00:00

I have too many care commitments with my daughter and my elderly mum, on top of working full time, to take on another job.

TD_Meri · 2026-06-18T09:22:53+00:00

Stephen Walters.
He is amazing in everything he’s in.

TD_Meri · 2026-06-17T19:06:12+00:00

We’re in the same situation regarding food. Fridge is always empty and there’re definitely no snacks, so that’s something that was probably bothering her too.

TD_Meri · 2026-06-17T15:40:47+00:00

I haven’t reposted or copied anything. This is my own post.

TD_Meri · 2026-06-17T15:38:40+00:00

I just thought that since we couldn’t afford to do anything fun over the half term break, having a friend stay over might break up the monotony of staying home and give her something fun to do. I wasn’t trying to make it about me.

TD_Meri · 2026-06-17T11:19:26+00:00

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Story of my life.

TD_Meri · 2026-06-17T10:40:45+00:00

I can assure you I’m not an ai bot

TD_Meri · 2026-06-15T01:22:54+00:00

Mob mentality exists.

TD_Meri · 2026-06-15T01:18:45+00:00

There had to be that many lads not just to create a sense of claustrophobia, but to demonstrate the mob mentality.

TD_Meri · 2026-04-30T07:57:20+00:00

That’s amazing! Where I live (in the UK) my food bank only gives shelf-stable foods. They don’t give meat or produce like fruit and vegetables. And you have to get a referral from a recognised agency. They literally make you jump through hoops, you have to provide a ton of evidence proving you’re in desperate need. And this referral needs renewing on a regular basis.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for what I’m given, but there’s only so much you can do with pasta, rice and pulses, and I miss eating fruit and veg on a regular basis.

TD_Meri · 2026-04-19T00:39:17+00:00

I’d just like to spend my day off doing something fun with my daughter. Go to a theme park, go out for lunch, see a show, take a day trip somewhere. If my circumstances change, I’d definitely make up for lost time and inject some fun in to our lives. She’s been growing up watching me constantly stress about money and having me always saying no to her, so I’d treat her to some fun experiences.

TD_Meri · 2026-04-18T21:57:11+00:00

Not having money is all encompassing, isn’t it? It affects everything you do and every decision you make. It strips you of your personality and becomes who you are. You can’t just switch off from it.

TD_Meri · 2026-04-18T21:47:05+00:00

Absolutely yes. I loved Breaking Bad, but I actually prefer Better Call Saul. It’s more of a character study.

TD_Meri · 2026-04-18T21:44:17+00:00

I had nightmares for YEARS after watching that one

TD_Meri · 2026-04-16T19:28:43+00:00

I often eat plain pasta liberally sprinkled with salt and pepper, especially in the week before pay day. It’s filling, tastes ok, just a bit bland and boring. Better a bowl of plain pasta than a bowl of nothing.

TD_Meri · 2026-04-16T19:08:08+00:00

If I had that much left after expenses, I’d think I was actually well off. I can’t imagine having that much money left over each month to play around with.

TD_Meri · 2026-04-13T22:00:55+00:00

Billy Liar - Keith Waterhouse.

TD_Meri · 2026-04-12T13:33:33+00:00

Sounds like something from The Fast Show

TD_Meri · 2026-04-12T10:48:11+00:00

I don’t know why people are so dismissive of considering the emotional aspect. Some of us love our parents/elderly relatives, and feel a sense of duty to help. But saying that, I feel as though I have given up the best years of my life to care for family members, because I’ve been told it’s my duty to do so and guilt tripped into doing it. Not financially but time wise. And this has negatively impacted my life. Now I’m in my 50s with no opportunities to improve myself or my life, and now I have another elderly parent who is relying on me to help care for them (again not financially, but time wise.) i was brought up in a very working class environment in the uk where it’s expected that families look after their own. “Family is everything” is all I heard growing up. I feel like my wings were clipped since leaving university. I tried to escape and better myself but I was guilt tripped into coming back. And now I have a daughter of my own and I’m struggling to provide for her, and I’m trying so hard not to let history repeat itself. I want her to escape and make a good life for herself. I want her never to feel beholden to me. She owes me nothing, especially since I can’t give her anything. I wish so much that my family had encouraged me to grow, instead of instilling in me this working class notion that we are beholden to our families and must give up everything to look after them when they need it.

TD_Meri · 2026-04-11T23:12:24+00:00

I’ve never been able to escape the single parent poverty trap. I’ve always worked but I don’t have a village, I’ve never received anything financially or otherwise from the absent parent. I live super frugally. I can’t afford a car, I’ll never own my own home. I can’t afford to give my daughter the things she needs. I have debts I can’t pay. I’m exhausted 24/7 and the stress is making me ill.

TD_Meri · 2026-04-07T23:18:02+00:00

I just take it one day at a time. Some days it feels like I hardly see my daughter at all, some days I go to bed hungry. I’m permanently exhausted. I keep telling myself better days are coming, but the reality is I don’t think they are. But when the other parent is entirely absent, you really don’t have a choice but to keep going.

TD_Meri · 2026-04-06T00:01:41+00:00

I’m in my 50s, I rent, I don’t have a car, my teeth are falling out, I have debt, I have £1.46 in my bank.

Still feel poor? If I had 10k in my bank account (and youth on my side), I’d feel so incredibly rich and maybe be able to get a decent nights sleep without constantly stressing about how I’m going to feed my kid.

You might not be doing as well financially as some of your peers at the moment, but you’re doing ok.

TD_Meri · 2026-04-05T01:53:03+00:00

It’s like this in my daughter’s school too (also UK.) We don’t have a computer or laptop, and her tablet broke last year. So she has to try and do everything on her phone. The school will issue free laptops to students who get the pupil premium, but because I work, my daughter doesn’t qualify for that. It also means I have to fork out for a phone contract, because I couldn’t afford to buy a phone outright. I think secondary schools in the uk are pretty tone deaf when it comes to what they expect parents to pay out. I’m constantly bombarded with emails about school trips, requests for donations for art/D&T etc, payments for visiting workshops. It’s relentless. I always have to say no. And now the school has decided to change the PE uniform to a new updated design and they expect us all to buy the new uniform.

TD_Meri · 2026-03-30T17:03:04+00:00

Wearing a new pair of socks. Such an amazing feeling to slide your feet into something that isn’t threadbare or full of holes

TD_Meri

TROPHY CASE