Do you give coins to the street children?

Yes, I think some children also appreciate foods than money. Nice day to you, too!

I think it's much better to give food than money because you can't be sure of what they will do with the money right.

I see what you mean. Some are dependent on asking or begging for money and they're not learning anything from that. Yea, well, I think what they need is an adviser. They would never realize that if they'll stick being beggars.

I agree. For many, it is easier to make money begging than to get a paying job. They play on the emotions of those 'more fortunate' and tend to make you feel guilty for having what they don't. Some children are forced by their parents to beg - they are obviously seen as more of a charity case than an adult - and the parents spend the money on alcohol or drugs.

If everyone stopped giving them money, they would be forced to find employment and earn a living like other people. When you are given things for free you appreciate them less than if you paid for them yourself.

Hi lucky! Thank you. It's way past my bedtime already, but I'm not so sleepy yet so I better use my time here in mylot where I'm earning. Same here, I also give food wherein I'm sure that it'll go nowhere but in their stomach.=P

hahaha i was actually wondering why you are still awake. it's monday tomorrow haha.
i do sometimes really feel sorry for them that i give some money but i'm also wary where they spend it. i hope i am carrying food when they approach me..

We don't have street children here, we usually see adults asking for money.
Some wear signs near the highways, the signs say "will work for food" most really don't want food, just a free handout.
Some stand near restaurants with drive thru's, like McDonald's and ask for change so they can buy a coffee or breakfast. One driver ahead of me bought an extra coffee and gave to one of these people and the coffee was thrown on the ground.
I've seen documentaries where a lot of these people go later in the day to leave the cities and get into a nice car and have very nice homes.
When you think about it, standing around begging for change wouldn't be a bad job....they probably make a lot of money doing this and can beg whenever they want, making it so they have very flexible hours. They don't have to stand on their feet all day, either!

hi mzz^^;;
thanks for sharing here with us.
my hometown too does have a lot of adults palm handling and some are not really poor. one happens to be my university classmate's neighbor and the old woman's house was nice and her children have degrees. it's just one kind of practice or hobby i think that's why they do it.
for children, we can really see they are poor because they are very thin.

i also have read similar article like you mentioned that somewhere in the US, a pan handler died and when police checked his thick jacket, it had $10,000 on it. wonder why those "papers" were so valued deeply that he didn't even use it before he died.

Hi owlwings: Is begging illegal in the UK? I didn't know it and i found that this is not either a solution to treat these persons like criminals for doing that. They need help and jail won't make them better persons. In some cases they need to go to rehab, in case they're children the State must take care of them before the grow up and become criminals.

Begging (that is, asking people on the street for money - unless one is collecting for charity and has a license) is illegal in the UK. We don't have child beggars in the way that you do simply because of that.

In your country I think that you will find that many beggars - children, women carrying infants and so on - are actually part of organised crime rackets. They are employed to beg, in other words, by very wealthy criminals or, sometimes, just by their families (who are actually reasonably well-off as a result of having numerous children who are taught to be good actors).

Don't be fooled by appearances (or if you ever stop long enough to listen to their stories). They are well-trained to make their living as beggars and their families or employers do pretty well out of it!

Why should the State be responsible for the kids who are begging? The State is (or should be) responsible for eliminating crime and public disorder. Once it acknowledges where the real problem is (that people employ kids and women with babies to beg) so much the better. No, the kids themselves should not be treated like criminals until they are really of an age to understand what being a criminal is. It is the whole organisation that makes such things possible and even acceptable that needs dealing with.

I just wish that, that would be implemented here in our country. Making begging illegal does somehow eliminate this organized crimes where they use children, woman, blind people or handicapped people just to earn money.
There was a film before about the cruelty of society where it shows children had their eyes taken out by these goons so that when they beg, people would get compassionate and give more.
Harsh reality yet these had been rampant especially with asian countries. The government may have to create programs to address these issues. But the more responsibility goes to the people. If people tolerate these organized crimes by indirect support through these beggars, then how can the government stop it when the root cause is so deep that you had to start from the seed itself.

That is true. Good thing that that mother of the streetkid did not ask for money in return. People get so creative when it comes to money. They would sometimes use this alibi where the food that was given to them was bad and they had a stomachache and had to be brought to the hospital. In the end, they would be asking money for the hospital bills and medicine stuff.

Sometimes our intention is good. But human nature at times, sad to say, creates ways to abuse these people who have kind heart.

Hello, actually I believe the mother intended to extort my mom's friend. Whether her child got a stomachache or not, I'm pretty sure she did it expecting my mom's friend to just hand over some cash.