This change was brought in some time ago now but I was speaking with a friend who is having her 3rd baby soon and as she is on benefits she had recieved the Sur Start maternity grant with her last two babies.
She also had a moan how this £500 would of made a great difference to this baby too as she was short of money, but as this is not her first baby she is no longer entitled to it.
Changes in the rules for Sure Start Maternity Grant
The rules for Sure Start Maternity Grant have changed for babies that are:
- due on or after 11 April 2011
- born on or after 11 April 2011
- adopted or in similar arrangements on or after 11 April 2011
The rules for your new baby and any other babies born at the same time
You can only get a Sure Start Maternity Grant if there are no other children under 16 years in your family.
The rules for your dependent child’s new baby and any other babies born at the same time
You can only get a Sure Start Maternity Grant if your dependant is under 20 years and has no other children.
Do you agree with this change?
Has this change effected you?
I would love to hear your views…
About The Real Supermum
I totally agree, if you’re repeatedly having children whilst on benefits why should u be given handouts? This country is really struggling with money and the amount of these grants that used to be given out adds up to a lot of money. If u want £500 to spend on ur baby, save £500 up before u fall pregnant.
I’m not normally into benefit bashing, everyone is different and we shouldn’t really judge, but if you struggle enough to need a £500 handout with first or subsequent babies then maybe it’s not a great idea to bring more children into the world that the mum can’t afford to pay for…
i actually do agree with this. im pregnant with my second im finding it hard but to be fair 2nd 3rd 4th babies are usually planned.! so they will no the cost etc
I never got this with my first child & I won’t get it this time either! For me it is not an issue, as when me & my partner decided we wanted to start a family, we saved hard for 2 years & so we were able to afford everything ourselves, without relying on hand outs or loans..we have £1000 left which will be paying for the child I’m having this time. Obviously not everyone has this luxury and circumstances can vary, but for us, it was important that we were able to provide for our children ourselves! xxx
I completely agree with the changes, sounds really harsh but my view is don’t have kids if you can’t afford to pay for them yourself, I never got it with my first, I plan on only having the one as can afford to have one but would struggle with 2 xx
i do agree with comments such as if u cant afford a baby then dont have one. i was made redundant during my first pregnancy and there was a period of time where i wasnt allowed jobseekers allowance as my partner was working even though i was looking for work and struggling to pay rent but it was also too early for maternity pay so the grant really helped. i didnt see the redundancy coming.
with our second baby my partner was in a better job and i was a stay at home mum and we were doing fine until we were evicted around the time my partner lost his job due to the recession. our choice was to be homeless or take on a house that was more expensive. the money saved for the baby went into moving costs, settling up all the bills etc and we were lucky to get the grant but we struggled along in that house til we found a cheaper one.
i dont seem to have much luck but im so grateful to have been able to have had the grant.
i agree, i know if you was to say wait untill you can afford a baby before having one, some people would never have one!, but you dont need 500 to spend on a new born, i wasnt entilted to it with my 1st as we were working, but with everything we had to pay out in bills it left hardly anything, so most my stuff was 2nd hand and came from friends or family. thats the way to do it if your low on money, you dont need extra hand outs that you havent worked for.
Sounds fair
if you cant afford them dont have them 
x
The whole point of it is to help a first time mum with the big costs e.g. pram, cot etc. Now I never had help as both me and hubby work and as I don’t want to fork out for a double pushchair, extra cot etc we have decided to try for baby number 2 when our lo is 2. This means we should be able to recycle all the big items and most of the clothes/toys. Why can’t that mentality carry on to those on benefits? My viewpoint is that I agree with the changes.
I got this grant with both my babies, didnt need it with my second as already had everything from my first, but just got a few new bits, so put it away for the boys, and it came in handy when pregnant with my first as my ex wouldnt give me any money to buy stuff for my first, but i do agree with the change, the country is in too much debt as it is, giving 500 to aload of people is alot of money x x
I think in a way its a good change as I can see the reasoning being maybe to stop people having second and third babies to claim another £500 but it doesn’t mean im happy about itm we Didnt get it with my first and missed out by a month with my second. Gutted. We were having a boy second time round so all the clothes id saved from no1 (girl) were useless and im not saying I needed £500 but maybe £100-200 but then again I dont see why the government should pay for me to have a baby. Same as tax credits, I couldn’t afford kids without them but I find it amazing the amount of money thrown at you for doing sonething that is ur own personal choice. So yeah, agree with the change but sore I missed out on it too
I agree, if you decide to have a child/ren…you should pay for them and buy the things they need. Not rely on the government.
I had my lo last september so I was intitled to the grant how ever as my silly mid wife never told me about it (a friend did the day I had lo) I never got it. How ever I managed
For us it’s not an issue but I can understand where others are coming from x
i think every1 shud get the 500 even those who ear 2 much money or aint on benefits to qualify because its hard 2 buy all the things u need and the £500 is a good starter BUT u should be made 2 spend it in certain shops as alot of people will just p**s it up the wall basically….so maybe mothercare vouchers or something! xx
I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS CHANGE.
I AM ON MY 4TH BABY AND I HAVE ONLY HAD 1 MAT GRANT.
THIS BABY WAS A VERY BIG SHOCK TO ME AS I WAS ON THE DEPO JAB.
THIS TIME I DID NEED THE HELP AND I CANT GET IT… I HAVE A 1YEAR OLD DAUIGHTER AND SHE IS NOT GOING TO BE OUT OF HER COT BY THE TIME THE BABY COMES
(ITS A BOY THIS TIME) SO I HAVE TO START A HOLE NEW WARDROBE THIS TIME…
ITS NOT EASY!!!
THIS IS JUST MY OPINION. THANKYOU FOR LISTENING! XXX
I agree with the change I wasn’t eligable for one with my son as we earned to much but I do believe every mother should be given it once regardless of income !
I think every parent (on specific benefits) should receive this grant for there first child as a lot of new mums do not realise the items that they need for a newborn so to have the £500 helps the mum buy all the things that she needs. I got it with both my children but it does not bother me that I will not get it again with my third x
I completely agree with the changes. Having a baby is expensive but it doesn’t have to be. There are loads of websites like ebay selling good quality items at cheap prices. Children need love, comfort and food not designer clothes and prams x
I totally agree with the changes but feel that it not fair to expect parents to know this change was going to happen and should only really apply to those who have baby’s close together. My Situation is that my eldest daughter is 15 and my youngest daughter is going to be six in June and so I got rid of all my youngest’s baby stuff once she had outgrown them as I was unaware that the new rule was even being considered at the time. I am now 20 weeks pregnant with my third baby ( a boy) and me and my partner are on a very limited income so the £500 maternity grant would help take some of the pressure off as everything has increased in price recently and we have to buy everything again. Taking into account the increase in costs the £500 would not cover everything anyway unless you brought certain items second hand, but you cant buy everything second hand because of safety issues anyway.
This is a hard one…..i agree with some of it…and other parts no…I think every case should be looked at differently xxx
I got the grant with my first son. I had nothing and need everything. 500 was a god send! My sons now 2 and I’m pregnant again. Iv kept almost everything rather than selling on so ill be ok. But if i sold everything then I’d be stuffed! Maybe a 100 pound grant for those on second child would help x