Delaying heating the house, showering every two or three days, weighing up selling cherished items, cancelling holidays – these are some of the sacrifices parents in the UK are making in their efforts to cope with the cost of living crisis.
About 19% of households with children, an estimated 1.5 million, are in serious financial difficulties, according to analysis of abrdn’s financial fairness tracker by the charity Action for Children. This figure compares with 13% of households without children.
The charity has called the situation a “cost of children crisis” and is urging the government to provide targeted support for struggling parents, such as increasing social security levels in line with inflation and reforming cost of living payments to take family size into account.
With autumn half-term this week, food and heating costs are escalating as children spend more time at home.
“What we know from parents is they do everything they can to shield their children from the financial pressures they’re under, and that puts a huge strain on parents,” said Action for Children’s head of policy, Joe Lane.
Parents who spoke to the Guardian said they were wringing every penny from household budgets to make sure children did not go without.
Jo, 52, a school business administrator in Suffolk with a 14-year-old son, said she was showering only every two or three days to save on energy costs. “We used to do a standup wash at the sink [in the 70s], I can do that. But it just feels like we’re going backwards” as a society, she said.
