Over 1000 Aluminium Cans for Forty Dollars: The Provisioning Contributions of Older Children from the Perspectives of Welfare-Reliant Lone Mothers.

In this article, as a child and family mental health therapist, I connect the feminist concept of 'provisioning' and the experiences of 'young carers' to critically examine the family care contributions made by older children living in poverty. I present the findings of a qualitative study consisting of two focus groups in which ten ( n = 10) welfare-reliant lone mothers living in Toronto, Canada described the nature and significance of the contributions made by their older children (11-17 years old) to help their families 'make ends meet'. Using grounded theory, two main categories emerged: (1) the nature of the provisioning by older children, and (2) the significance of the contributions. The implications of the findings suggest that mental health approaches with older children living in poverty inappropriately misrepresent and pathologise their emotional distress and family contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]