bubbalicious: the place for young parents

My child benefit took a week, both grants when i was pregnant took 2 weeks. My tax credits income support seams to be taking forever :( xx

You can get information about them on http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm if thats any help :) xx

i had the health in pregnancy grant & the sure start grant.. im still waiting for my child tax & everything to be sorted out, so my mums been giving me money every week to live off & then i'll pay her it all back when everything finially get's sorted out :)

Hummmmmm....:/

i stillhavent had my tax credits come thru yet n i need th form to take council so they can start payin all ym rent as i realy cant afford to pay

if you are on job seekers allowance then after 29 weeks of your pregnancy you can move onto income support which is what i have done and you dont need to go into the job centre anymore

im so confused on what i will get benefits wise :/ i live with my mum and brother, im only 16, and my brother who is 19 already gets benefits for being agrophobic, which is where he is scared to leave the house. but i wont be able to work cos i cant afford care or anything and my boyfriend is only 18 in an apprenticeship so cant rely on him. does any one know what situation i would be in? :s xxx

i loved it when my child tax finally came though because it took so long i ended up gettin £750 in 1 i was so happy coz we needed to pay bills and stuff for mia. also un til we got child tax i couldnt get the £500 grant because you had to be claimin child tax xx

It took them like 7weeks to sort my child tax. My son has his dads surname "Robertson" and my surname is "Robinson" and that confused them. They even sent me a letter asking who's child I was trying to claim for!!!

I never had any problem with any of my benefits, it took me about 3 weeks to get my child tax but I wasn't struggling for money so I didn't really mind because we later had a nice back payment :)

It took me 13 weeks to get my child tax! Wasnt happy at all!

it took us about 3 months in total to get EVERYTHING paying to us :( i filled everything in before my baby was born but they just take so long. tax credits actually got sick of waiting for child benefit that they just went right ahead and started paying me without the child benefit number in the end anyway!

it has taken almost 6 weeks for the tax credit to come back i get my first payment tommorow i do have income support i had the 500 but i had everything soo i gave that to my mom coz she payd for it first of all i was almost crying going on income support i felt like i let myself down with it

it has taken almost 6 weeks for the tax credit to come back i get my first payment tommorow i do have income support i had the 500 but i had everything soo i gave that to my mom coz she payd for it first of all i was almost crying going on income support i felt like i let myself down with it

@Titch - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Expectingorbringingupchildren/DG_10018854 -Here is the link where you can download the form for a £500 maternity grant..theres other information on there aswell to find out where you can pick forms up from! Theres also a £190 grant, & you can find out about that here....www.direct.gov.uk/4mum2be I claimed both during pregnancy..& receive child benifit/tax credit. Helps out ALOT...esp with them growing up so fast. Nappies...food, clothes, wipes ect!

When I claimed for the £500, I was still waiting to hear back about Child Tax Credits, (was cutting it fine as LO was almost 3 months) ... by the time the DWP got back to me, LO was 3 months and they said I wasn't eligible, then I found out I could get CTC so surely I would've been able to get the £500.. grrr! Bit late now...

i can claim the grant cose im on benifits but where do i go to claim for the grants ??

i claimed the £190 myself but had to get my mum to claim the £500 because i was only 16 and wasnt on benefits.... u do not have to be on benefits to claim the £500 it just depends on your income... if your on a low income try and claim... if u carnt claim benefits until your baby is born ... you have up to 3 months after your baby is born to claim the £500, worth a try :)

i cant claim any benefits because im at college more than a certain number of hours per week at college even though i dont get paid for it! so my mum has to claim instead.. i have no idea about this;.

The job centre are rubbish at sorting anything out, i thought you had to be claiming beneifeits to get the sure start grant but cause my nana is claiming beneifeits for me (child tax credit) she can claim instead :)

reading this was very helpful to me as i got told by a friend that because i am under 18 the government would not give me a penny until i turned 18 or the baby was born! im going to apply for everything i possibly can as neither me or my boyfriend have jobs and we live with his parents!xx

i was given so much stuff wen i was pregnan but the 500 grant was handy to buy him few new things but if ur buying everything brand new it is so not enough, im on benefits atm planning on going bk to work in a few years but im stuying childcare part time at college if u go to college or ork for less than 15 hours a week it dosnt affect your benefits at all unless of course your earing 1000's lol....you can also get a budgeting loan if need be and you pay it back about a fiver a week from your money, also if u move into a new place and its unfurnished you wil be entilteled to a community care grant which can be anything from 50-1000 pounds depending on wat u need but id say jus lie the more you get the more u can spend on the little one :) xx

if you go on the care to learn scheme does it affect your benifits??

I cant claim anything as my boyfriend works more than 24hours a week but earns less than the guidelines for me to get income support wich is a total income of less than 16,000 a year. this is not enuff for rent, nappies food etc.. the midwife said we can get income support and housing benifits but the jobcentre said we werent :/ its all so confusing i gave up. just going to wait till the baby comes and get the childbenifit and child tax crediits. xx

Type down direct gov in google and you will find out about all the benefits, grants that your entitled to, theres loads of different ones, depending on your situation. I think everyone is entitled to the £190 grant @ 25 weeks aslong as you were born here. And at 28 weeks you can apply for income support, if your not working or studying. And if you are entitiled then you can also apply for the sure start maternity grant which is £500. You get child benefit, housing benefit, tax credits etc once your bubba is born :).

If You Go Onto Direct Gov They Give You Alot Of Options You Could Always Ask Your Midwife About Different Benefits Or You Could Go To Your Local Job Centre. I Qualified For The Sure Start Grant - £500, Healthy Living - £ 190, Vouchers To Go Towards Cow's Milk, Fresh Fruit & Veg & Formula Milk & Im Also Claming Income Support.

I Got Income Support at 28/29 weeks pregnant, i had to live on 10 a week due to not being accepted on JSA at 20weeks pregnant. how bad was that? :(. Im Gettin Incomesupport now, and im going to send off Child Benfit.! Ps Care2Learn. is a great new thing to let your child go to a nursey, or creche if you want to go back into school or college or uni, and you dont have to pay nothing! if your a single parent and are accepted to the circumstances then i say go 4 it ! =D

i couldnt really claim anything until i was 16 as i live with my parents and they were both working but as soon as u turn 16 go to the job centre and they tell u all that u are entitled to i still dnt get alot as i live with my parents, they dnt eactly pay for everything.

go on direct.gov they have lots of advice on there, plus you can apply for benefits etc on there too or job centre plus. Some benefits you cant claim until you have had your child by the way x

I'm not able to get some grants because I'm not on benefits. Can my boyfriend claim for us if he's on JSA?

i don't seem to be entitled to anything as i am under 16 and both of my parents work, seems unfair as we are not exactly made of money :|

My midwife has told me because im not on benifits i cant get the £500 grant. but because my dads on higher rate child tax credit and is on a low working income he can claim it for me. Even if he was on benifits he could claim for me

i heard i will not be able to claim income support where i am still in education

i think they are really good i had my 190 grant and 500 grant when i wre pregs and now geting tax credits n child beenfit

how come claim stuff take agesss ..x

is maternity allowance the same as smp because im not entilted to smp.does anyone know if i will get the same amount?

Depends on individual situations

Im actually not entitled to any benefits, other than child benefit. I had my son when i was 14, and for 11 months after he was born my mum looked after him whilst i sat my GCSE's. Care to learn has been a huge financial benefit to me and my boyfriend (baby's daddy). They pay up to £150 for childcare, or up to £160 per week in London. Im now studying for my Alevels and am sure that without care to learn I would not have been able to return to full time or further education. Projects like these are vital!

my husband was made redundant at christmas, when i was pregnant with our second child, i was amazed by how much help i got for the new baby, and it was such a relieve to know that we could get all the furniture we needed for the new arrival!

they totally messed up my HIP grant. I found out about it the end of last year and only just scraped it with the dates. I sent my form off and was declined because some idiot had typed in that i was due on 10.09.09 i was due on 10.04.09. I had Cody by the time i got the letter and he was crying in the back ground when i rang up to complain so they sorted it out quickly! I cant remember what benefits i got with millie but i remember applying for everything i could. i was lucky as they ran a young mums to be course from 14 weeks pregnant til 30 weeks locally to me at the time i had millie so i went on the course and was paid £40 a week for attending, i saved all that up which helped to pay for alot of things before i even got any of the grants etc. Think they need to run these courses all over the country, was a real help.

make sure you apply for income support on your 16 birthday if you are pregnant they don't tell you you can qualify but you can and also look into your milk/veg token before you give birth as they are for you as well as the baby, and get you applications ready for child benefit and child tax credit so when you give birth these can be sent away asap as they take ages to sort, and if you are just under your 16th your parent needs to stop there child benefit before you can claim anything, make sure you know your rights get both your grants £500 and £190 and if you move out into your own home and are on benefits get help with budgeting loans and social fund payments and if you are really desperate and stuck at any stage contact your local social service they are there to help and can give you small cash payment to tide you over as long as it isnt frequent let them help they are not allowed to take you child without real cause ie abuse they do help. And always ask for help if you need it.xo

I applied for sure start grant and was turned down as i wasnt recieving benifits, so i applied for income support and was accepted i dont undertsand why they want me to take more of their money!

If you have questions about what you're entitled to (UK) then ring your local Job Centre and ask to speak to a young persons adviser - they will probably set you up with a meeting and sort it all out for you!!! x

I think the benefits in england are much better than those in ireland. after having my daughter I moved to ireland and I work our a lot worse off, not that im complaining, im gratefull for all the help I get, its just a reminder to appreiciate what you have girls, coz i know i didnt used to!!

i got some good benefits whilst pregnant that helped me alot and the money i now get for sienna is still helpin me alot

Anyone know of grants in New Zealand?

i got declined mine with my eldest but got it with my second baby, not sure why though my circumstances hadnt changed at all

Baby grant was helpful but £500??? A cot and buggy alone would completely wipe that! Second hand is the way to go...

Im so thankful for the benefits I receieved

Who would claim for me as im under 16 my mum?

I applied for a sure start maternity grant with both my pregnancies... 1st time I was 17 and living at my mums house, I was declined.... 2nd time I was 20 and living with my working partner and it was accepted!......... I really needed it when i was 17 not so much when I was 20! Not got a clue why and what had changed there minds but hey-ho..... If you apply and get declined, apply again straight away, you might just get a surprise!

can u get maternity grant even if ur waiting to hear about income support??

Can you get a sure start maternity grant if you live with your partner?

i spent the grants on baby things, they were a great help

Do You Know About Care To Learn? I Think Its Absolutly Bril!!! xx

im looking forward to spending my grants on lots of lovely things for baby :) x

i never knew my mum had to stop claiming until i put my claim in and it came back i couldn't get it because of that luckily she's stopped know and i get to re put my claim in on wednesday x

My HIP grant came within a week i was well pleased! i bought lots of nappies haha xx

I never knew my mum would have to stop claiming child benefit before i could claim benefits in my own right. Long wait for me.

Yes it costs mor eas they get older and defintely cheapep ifvyou breastfeed and cook your own purees and stews and so on. But have you ever counter how much it cots just for nappies and wipes!!!! Of you aren't working then that's a lot of your weekly income. I think nappies should be free or at least tax - free :)

Hmm... babies really don't cost that much? After the main purchases like cot and pushchair etc. there is really only nappies. Clothes are dirt cheap from places like George at Asda and often given to you as gifts. Breastfeeding saves you a lot too... It's when they grow into teenagers we will have to watch our purses!!!

contact job centre plus and they will sort you out

How do I find out if I can claim for these?