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• 38% dread the holidays because of the financial strain they put on the family,   
• 25% have had to borrow money/gone into debt to make ends meet/pay for the essentials,  
• 87% worried for their children’s future life chances,   
• 66% said the cost-of-living crisis had negatively impacted their family,  
• 63% report struggling with their mental health while being a parent,  
• 62% say childcare is one of the biggest challenges facing parents.

In its annual survey, The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) warns that mounting debt, poor mental health, and expensive and unavailable childcare is placing children’s futures at risk, with 87% of parents of babies, toddlers, and children under 5 years saying that they are worried about their children’s future life chances.  

The children’s charity says that parents of young children – particularly those in lower income households – are not getting the support they need to give their children the best start in lifeand is calling on the new Government to do more for young families and commit to a National Baby and Toddler Guarantee.

Joanna Rea, Director of Advocacy for the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) said: “This is the moment to start making the UK one of the best places to raise a child and reverse the years of underinvestment and austerity which contributed to the UK having the highest increase in child poverty of any rich country. With a quarter of parents borrowing money to pay for the essentials for their children – supporting them must be an urgent national priority for the new Government.”  

Results of the annual YouGov survey commissioned by UNICEF UK has found that financial worries, poor mental health, and childcare continue to severely impact families with young children up and down the country. 66% of parents asked said the cost-of-living crisis had negatively impacted their family, 63% reported to have struggled with their mental health while being a parent, and 62% cited the lack of local, affordable, and quality childcare as one of the biggest challenges facing parents.  

UNICEF UK’s annual survey reveals that households living on lower incomes (£19,999 or below a year) are suffering the most with 77% from this group reporting to be negatively impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. The report shows a consistent pattern across the metrics of those on lower incomes suffering more – with 62% dreading the holidays because of the financial strain, 39% borrowing money/gone into debt to make ends meet/pay for the essentials, and three-quarters (75%) reporting to have struggled with their mental health while being a parent.  

One respondent said: “Lack of new educational toys and books because they’re too expensive, no days out because it is also too expensive, can only just afford to buy second hand clothes and shoes for the children…Food choices are worse as they’re all that we can afford.” 

Another respondent shared that they are: “Less able to go to activities and join in with classes as most have cost. Not able to learn skills: i.e. swim due to cost. We have had to delay potty training and other skills due to saving for equipment and developmental toys etc.” 

Last year UNICEF UK reported that the UK had seen the biggest increase in child poverty of all the OECD/EU countries rated in their report: Child Poverty in the Midst of Wealth. UK rates had increased by nearly 20% in the last decade as Government spending on financial assistance for families with children had reduced by nearly 40%. UNICEF UK is warning that while we have seen marginal improvements for the wealthier households surveyed, it is families on lower incomes who are falling through the cracks, and who are surviving not thriving.  

Parent of a child under 5yrs said: “I am unable to provide them with the resources we usually would have to be able to play and enjoy being at home. We go on less days out that cost money, which in turn affects our moods and therefore feel our quality of parenting is less as we struggle for motivation. Spend too much time worrying which rubs off onto the children.” 

Another said: “I am a single parent…the costs of living make it a constant struggle to afford basic living necessities. My money all goes on my child…I’ve worked all my life, but as a single parent providing for a child has been made basically impossible…These days you now need two incomes to run a household, and family help. I have neither.” 

UNICEF UK asked parents what they were most worried about and how these ‘worries’ impacted themselves, and their parenting. Saving for the future (56%), making ends meet (47%), childcare (44%), and children’s health and development (44%) were cited as the most worried about issues, with respondents reporting that they worried about these issues ‘a lot’ or ‘all of the time’. 88% of parents surveyed said that their worries impacted their mental health in some way, with more than half reporting low mood (52%), being angry and short-tempered (50%), and losing sleep (50%). However, findings reveal an overall improvement in parental wellbeing, with significantly less reporting to feel lonely (5%pts improvement), overwhelmed (6%pts improvement), anxious (6%pts improvement) and unsupported (13%pts improvement) ‘all or a lot of the time’ this year than in the previous year.  

Joanna Rea, Director of Advocacy for the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) said: “Our findings show that families across the country are really struggling. The new Government must immediately prioritise support for its youngest and most vulnerable citizens starting with ending the two-child limit policy and removing the benefit cap. These two policies have significantly contributed to the dramatic increase in child poverty and the number of families struggling to keep their heads above water, getting swept away with rising costs and debt. The new Government must act urgently to address the crisis facing so many families across the country. 

“Behind these numbers are real parents skipping meals, worrying about making ends meet, and children going without the essentials they need, starting school already behind their peers, and growing up in stressed and stretched households with parents struggling every day. 

“But this can change, and it can be different. Investment in children, families, and the early years sector will not only transform the lives of millions living on low incomes, helping children to get a fair start in life that sets them up with the skills they need to succeed, but it will also benefit all children and everyone in society.  

“Childhood lasts a lifetime. It is the early years when we have the best chance to set children up with the skills they need to succeed in life, and why it is so important for the Government and society to support parents and help provide the best childhood for everyone, no matter who they are, or where they are born.”  

UNICEF UK’s survey shows that despite the increase in childcare funding from the last Government, it does not go far enough to reverse the years of under investment in early childhood, which has meant that babies, toddlers, and families are not getting the support they need across a range of vital services.

The children’s charity is calling for the new Government to re-think early years services and improve support for our youngest citizens and their families by introducing a ‘National Baby and Toddler Guarantee,’ which would mean every baby, toddler, and child under five years gets the support and services they need to thrive in their earliest years and beyond. A whole range of support is needed, but as a matter of urgency the new Government must: 

• Increase financial support to families, including ending the two-child limit and removing the benefits cap, 
• Guarantee every child a place in a local, affordable, and quality early education and care setting, 
• Ensure every parent with a young child can access mental health support when they need it.
   

Notes to editors: 

For more information please contact the UNICEF UK media team on 0207 375 6030 media@unicef.org.uk 

UNICEF UK’s Early Moments Matter campaign 
UNICEF UK’s Early Moments Matter campaign is calling on the UK Government to invest properly in early childhood and deliver a Baby and Toddler Guarantee, so that parents and carers can access the vital services and financial support to help them and their baby now and set them up for success in the future. Families need a range of support, but the campaign is focusing on financial support for parents, access to early education and childcare, and parents’ mental health as an urgent priority. 

Find out more about the campaign, what is included in the Guarantee, or sign the petition here. 

About the research conducted by YouGov 
Unicef UK commissioned a nationally representative survey of 2892 parents of children aged 0-4 years living in Great Britain in May and June 2024. Data tables are available on request.  

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