Being poor begins young

"With parents increasingly squeezed for time and money, this only creates more stress and even less positive environments for their children." Vidhya Alakeson, director of research at the Resolution Foundation, said .

Children from high-income families start school with skills that are already five months ahead of their middle and low-income classmates. Wealthier parents were able to create a "richer learning environment" for their children. Mothers in low to middle-income groups were at greater risk of post natal depression and had lower self-esteem and less sense of control over their lives. There was a statistical link between children's behavioural problems and poorer mental health and social isolation among their mothers.

75% of higher-income children were read to daily aged three, compared with 62% of children in low to middle-income households. While 42% of more affluent children visited a library at least once a month, this figure was 35% for worse off families.