My family was very poor, when I was a kid I used to resort to stealing from my parents in order to buy stuff that all the other kids [...]]]> I came across this topic randomly whilst browsing the net, and I remember having a strong emotional response to this because it brought back some painful memories.

My family was very poor, when I was a kid I used to resort to stealing from my parents in order to buy stuff that all the other kids used to get. I would steal money from my parents to buy sweets, football cards, drinks and just general spending money that all the other kids were given by their parents.

I remember hating having to do this, however I felt like I needed to do it because it saved me from the humiliation of having no money to spend, and I hated being one of the poor kids at school.

I used to dread every non-uniform day deep inside, but at the same time I had to show that I hated wearing my uniform and was looking forward to it in order to fit in with peers.

What’s funny is that I lived in a working class family and most people in school struggled to pay the £1.5o levy to get into school wearing non-uniform. But nobody dare mention the fact that they couldn’t afford to pay £1.50 to get into school.

So either the kids bunked school or got into school wearing uniform and face humiliation.

I used to enjoy school and couldn’t afford to pay the levy, so I would find out about non-uniform days and save up in order to get in. Other kids would come into school late which meant that they avoided paying altogether.

Non-uniform days would happen once every couple of months or so, and I had to contend with other issues such as how do I avoid wearing the same clothes which I wore on the last non-uniform day.

Kids are brutaly honest, and would make fun of you.

Looking back in hindsight, I never want to live in such poverty as an adult, and would never wish for this for my children. I’ll make sure I have plenty of money and my kinds have their basic needs met. Secondly, it’s funny how much kids care about peer pressure, as an adult I’ve matured so much and I really do not care what so ever  what other people think of me, however this is not the case of kids.