Children stressed and self-harming over UK cost of living crisis

Children across Britain are worried about their parents being squeezed by the cost of living crisis. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

The impact of the cost of living crisis on children has led some to start self-harming, a new report by a leading children’s charity has claimed.

According to the Childhood Trust, a third of parents questioned in a survey said their children had raised concerns about the crisis. Of these 483 parents, nearly half (47%) said their children felt stressed, a fifth (21%) said their children smiled less, and, most concerning, 9% claimed their children had started self-harming. This last figure represents about 3% of all the parents surveyed.