According to Save the Children report, based on interviews with 1,500 children and 5,000 parents, half of them in areas of high deprivation, found that one in eight of Britain's poorest children are going without at least one hot meal a day, and 43% had seen their parents cutting back on food and clothes.
Poverty, says Justin Forsyth, Save the Children's chief executive, "is tearing families apart".
Research published by the charity reveals significant numbers of parents in households with income of up to £30,000 a year are willing to skip meals, go into debt, avoid paying bills, and put off replacing worn-out clothing to ensure their children get enough food to eat. Although families below the poverty line (£17,000 a year household income) are worst hit, working families on "modest" household incomes are increasingly struggling to make ends meet as they attempt to cope with shrinking incomes, soaring food and energy costs, and cuts to welfare benefits and public services, says the report.
Nearly two thirds of parents in poverty (61%) say they have cut back on food and over a quarter (26%) say they have skipped meals in the past year. One in five parents in poverty says they cannot afford to replace their children's worn-out shoes, while 80% of parents in poverty say they have had to borrow money to pay for food and clothes over the past 12 months. Some 44% of families in poverty say that "every week they are short of money", while 29% say they have "nothing left to cut back on". 14% are denied a warm winter coat and 23% are missing out on school trips because parents cannot afford them. Nearly 30% of parents say they cannot afford to have their children's friend round for tea, and 10% of children cannot celebrate their birthdays.
Parents said financial worries were taking a toll on their physical and mental well-being, triggering arguments and other manifestations of family stress. Low-income parents were twice as likely as better-off parents to split up under the pressure, and more than twice as likely to snap at their children. Justin Forsyth, Save the Children's chief executive, said: "No child should see their parent going hungry or start the new term without a warm coat and with holes in their shoes. Poverty is tearing families apart, with parents buckling under the pressure of mounting bills and children seeing their parents argue more about money."
Poverty, says Justin Forsyth, Save the Children's chief executive, "is tearing families apart".
Research published by the charity reveals significant numbers of parents in households with income of up to £30,000 a year are willing to skip meals, go into debt, avoid paying bills, and put off replacing worn-out clothing to ensure their children get enough food to eat. Although families below the poverty line (£17,000 a year household income) are worst hit, working families on "modest" household incomes are increasingly struggling to make ends meet as they attempt to cope with shrinking incomes, soaring food and energy costs, and cuts to welfare benefits and public services, says the report.
Nearly two thirds of parents in poverty (61%) say they have cut back on food and over a quarter (26%) say they have skipped meals in the past year. One in five parents in poverty says they cannot afford to replace their children's worn-out shoes, while 80% of parents in poverty say they have had to borrow money to pay for food and clothes over the past 12 months. Some 44% of families in poverty say that "every week they are short of money", while 29% say they have "nothing left to cut back on". 14% are denied a warm winter coat and 23% are missing out on school trips because parents cannot afford them. Nearly 30% of parents say they cannot afford to have their children's friend round for tea, and 10% of children cannot celebrate their birthdays.
Parents said financial worries were taking a toll on their physical and mental well-being, triggering arguments and other manifestations of family stress. Low-income parents were twice as likely as better-off parents to split up under the pressure, and more than twice as likely to snap at their children. Justin Forsyth, Save the Children's chief executive, said: "No child should see their parent going hungry or start the new term without a warm coat and with holes in their shoes. Poverty is tearing families apart, with parents buckling under the pressure of mounting bills and children seeing their parents argue more about money."
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