More than a quarter of children in the North West worry about money
Children are concerned that their family doesn't have enough money to live comfortably, as the cost of living crisis deepens
A new report by Action for Children warns of the challenges facing children today, with over a quarter of children in the North West (27%) worrying about their family having enough money to live comfortably as the cost of living crisis deepens.
With vast numbers of children concerned about ‘adult issues’ including family finances, most North West parents (62%) and grandparents (66%) fear childhood is getting worse – and over a third (36%) of children agree.
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 warni the UK could be facing the biggest income squeeze in nearly fifty years with rising fuel and food prices, with the growing conflict in Ukraine likely to push up living costs even further.
Top issues North West children identified as preventing them from fulfilling their potential are the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic (43%), too much pressure from school (41%) and poor mental health (40%).
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 quarter (24%) of children seeing their own mental health as an issue in 2019, compared to 41% 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 14% of the parents and 10% of grandparents in the region recognised mental health as a worry – compared to four in ten (41%) parents and over a third (34%) of grandparents today.
Covering up a worry is common for children with over half (54%) in the region admitting to hiding worries from their parents. Again, parents appear more in tune, with 68% believing their child keeps their worries hidden from them – up from 50% pre-pandemic in 2019.
Encouragingly though, children in the North West do feel more optimistic about their own prospects, with over a third (35%) believing they will have a brighter future than their parents. Pessimism grows through the generations however, with parents (42%) and grandparents (51%) more than twice as likely than children (20%) 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 (54%) and grandparents (51%) 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 – over a third of children (36%) 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.
"Day in, day out our frontline staff support children in the North 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 are 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. To find out more visit here.