Parents battling the cost-of-living crisis are struggling so much that some children have no school lunch and do their homework in the cold, a report has found.
Others have described how they use their mobile phone instead of the lights and how they go to bed before it gets dark to save electricity. The devastating details are contained in the Cost of Living Crisis – Impact on Children Report 2023 which was published by Barnardos today.
One parent revealed that her son “has no lunch going to school, he can’t afford to go places with his friends, he is sitting in a cold room trying to do his homework.”
Read more: Social welfare Ireland: Next cost of living bonus payment due in two weeks
Another said: “I will only heat one part of the house, my child’s bedroom, and only then until my son falls asleep and then turn it off again.”
Amarach Research, who conducted the survey, took a nationally representative sample of 315 parents, as well as insights from 30 one-to-one interviews with parents currently supported through Barnardos. The results concluded that 73 per cent of parents surveyed said that cost of living increases have negatively affected the children in their care over the past six months — while almost two in 10 have been significantly affected.
37 per cent of parents and their children have had to go without or cut down on heating, 23 per cent did the same for electricity, and 20 per cent for food. In addition, 28 per cent of parents said that they had cut back on or gone without medical careover the past six months.
Nearly 60 per cent said that they had cut back on their children’s social activities/entertainment while 43 per cent revealed that they had cut back on, or their kids had gone without new clothes. Speaking about the report, Barnardos CEO Suzanne Connolly said: “It is unacceptable that children are going without the absolute minimal necessities and are being pulled into deprivation as a result of the cost-of-living increases.”
Meanwhile, struggling householders are being advised to start budgeting now for Christmas. The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) said families who start putting a bit of cash aside every week will benefit by avoiding a mountain of debt. MABS’ Michael Laffey said: “We’re having to sit down and revise budgets with clients, and in some cases we’re having to go back to the lending institutions to try and negotiate new terms for them.”
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