St Ives young carer among rising number of children worried about money
An Action for Children poll has found over a quarter are concerned about the cost of living crisis
Last updated 28th Mar 2022
A St Ives teenager who became a young carer after a crash left her mum with back problems and unable to work has told us she is worried about the cost of living crisis.
A report by Action for Children has found over a quarter of children in Cornwall and the South West (28%) are concerned about whether their family has enough money to live comfortably and over a third believe childhood is getting worse.
Its poll found that the coronavirus pandemic, mental health and pressures at school are the biggest issues.
What does the survey reveal?
Action for Children with YouGov polled three UK generations – quantitative surveys of over 5,000 children and adults - to explore the biggest issues affecting childhood post pandemic in a revisit of its landmark study from 2019.
Nationally, amongst the children surveyed from low-income backgrounds, nearly half (47%) said they worry about their family’s finances whilst only 14% of children from high income families agree.
Experts warn the UK could be facing the biggest income squeeze in nearly 50 years with rising fuel and food prices, with the growing conflict in Ukraine likely to push up living costs even further.
Top issues South West children identified as preventing them from fulfilling their potential are the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic (46%), poor mental health (45%) and too much pressure from school (43%).
Two years on from the first national lockdown, mental health is now a much bigger worry for the region’s children with less than a third (29%) of children seeing their own mental health as an issue in 2019, compared to 45% in 2022.
And parents and grandparents are now more attuned to their child or grandchild’s mental health than they were back in 2019. Then, only 22% of the parents and 9% of grandparents in the region recognised mental health as a worry – compared to nearly half (47%) of parents and nearly a third (30%) of grandparents today.
Covering up a worry is common for children with over half (53%) in the region admitting to hiding worries from their parents. Again, parents appear more in tune, with 74% believing their child keeps their worries hidden from them – up from 46% pre-pandemic in 2019.
Encouragingly though, children in the South West do feel more optimistic about their own prospects, with over a quarter (28%) believing they will have a brighter future than their parents. Pessimism grows through the generations however, with parents (46%) and grandparents (48%) more likely than children (28%) to say their child or grandchild won’t have a brighter future.
The older generations and children were also clearly divided when it came to social media use. More than half of parents (55%) and grandparents (54%) in the region felt that too much time spent on devices and social media would make it more difficult for children to fulfil their potential – less than a third of children (29%) agree.
Imran Hussain, director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, said: ‘It is the fundamental responsibility of any government to make sure every generation of children has a better childhood and a brighter future than the last.
Melissa's Story
13-year-old Marissa lives in St Ives and has been supported by Action for Children's young carers service as she looks after her mum, Suzanna, who suffers with back problems after a car accident.
Marissa said: “Although some aspects of childhood are better today, it’ll be harder for me to get a job on the back of the pandemic. Being a girl can be terrifying, especially when you go out later in the day. I hear from my friends and the news about girls my age being followed... social media has brought a lot of things to light that makes it scary to go out.”
Suzanna, 53, said: "I’m 100% sure that childhood is worse today than when I was young. Money is more of an issue now than it was back then - the price of housing, the cost of living, the wages where we live are so low".
Suzanna is very concerned about the energy price hike and added: "Marissa is petrified by the war in Ukraine. She is frightened the fall-out will involve the rest of Europe and the frontline crisis will come to the UK".
"Being a girl can be terrifying"
Climate change makes Marissa worried to the point that she often leaves the house with a bin bag to collect rubbish she finds.
On the environment, she said: "With social media you can see what is happening, it’s really distressing, you feel alone, you feel like you are the only person who cares".
Marissa's grandmother Daphne, 76, believes the price of goods will make it harder for children to have a higher standard of living as it is much easier to get into debt.
She said: "Costs are going up - there are more worries now about being able to afford a house.
"You have to leave the area you grew up in to get a job as there are no jobs for young people down here in the South-West".
While Daphne thinks technological advantages have made it better for children who are well off, she thinks that for most young people, childhood is now more challenging.
She added: "There is nothing light-hearted about childhood nowadays. It was better when I was young, and we could play in the street. You can’t do that now".
Imran Hussain, director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, said: "It is the fundamental responsibility of any government to make sure every generation of children has a better childhood and a brighter future than the last.
"Day in, day out our frontline staff support children in the South West grappling to see how they fit into our complex world –navigating big issues including financial worries, climate change and the pandemic. Sadly, since we conducted our research, intensifying money worries and the war in Ukraine will leave children feeling the world is a gloomier place.
"The likely fall-out of the Ukraine conflict with even higher energy bills and inflation rates not seen for a generation, is a double blow for low-income families, already locked in a crippling cost of living crisis.
"The pandemic also continues to hang heavy, and its impact will be felt long into children’s futures.
"The government needs a clear plan to reduce child poverty and it can take immediate action to support those on the lowest incomes by making sure benefits keep pace with the soaring cost of living in the tough months ahead".
The findings have been published as Action for Children launches its new Star in Every Child campaign to help its key workers deliver life-changing support to vulnerable children and give them a bright future.
More information about Star in Every Child can be found on Action for Children's website.