More than half of children in North West worry about family's finances, report says

Child playing with an abacus toy
A quarter of children in the NW worry about their family having enough money to live on comfortably

More than half of children in the North West worry about their family's finances, as the cost of living crisis soars.

Over a quarter of children in our region, 27%, say they worry whether their family has enough money to live on as prices rise.

The research by the charity, Action for Children reveals the main worries children in the North West face growing up in the shadow of the pandemic amid a growing cost of living crisis.

  • Among children surveyed from low-incomes, nearly half (47%) worry about their family’s finances.

  •  Children across our region are worried about their own mental health – up from 24% in 2019 to 41% today, with a sharp rise in parents and grandparents recognising this as a growing issue.

  •  There is some optimism with over a third (35%) of the region’s children believing they will have a brighter future compared to when their parents were their age.

A new report by the charity calls on the government to produce a plan to reduce child poverty and to take immediate action to support those on the lowest incomes by making sure benefits keep pace with the soaring cost of living.

Action for Children with YouGov polled three UK generations – surveys of over 5,000 children and adults - to explore the biggest issues affecting childhood post pandemic in a revisit of its landmark study from 2019.

The research found children in the NW were worried about whether their families had enough to live on

Finance experts warn the UK could be facing the biggest income squeeze in nearly fifty years with rising fuel and food prices, with the growing conflict in Ukraine likely to push up living costs even further.

Top issues North West children identified as preventing them from fulfilling their potential are the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic (43%), too much pressure from school (41%) and poor mental health (40%).

Two years on from the first national lockdown, mental health is now a much bigger worry for the region’s children with less than a quarter (24%) of children seeing their own mental health as an issue in 2019, compared to 41% in 2022.

Covering up a worry is common for children with over half (54%) in the region admitting to hiding worries from their parents. Again, parents appear more in tune, with 68% believing their child keeps their worries hidden from them – up from 50% pre-pandemic in 2019.

Encouragingly though, children in the North West do feel more optimistic about their own prospects, with over a third (35%) believing they will have a brighter future than their parents.

The charity Child Action on Poverty wants the government to draw up a plan to tackle child poverty

Pessimism grows through the generations however, with parents (42%) and grandparents (51%) more than twice as likely than children (20%) to say their child or grandchild won’t have a brighter future.

Imran Hussain, director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, said: "It is the fundamental responsibility of any government to make sure every generation of children has a better childhood and a brighter future than the last."

"Day in, day out our frontline staff support children in the North West grappling to see how they fit into our complex world –navigating big issues including financial worries, climate change and the pandemic."

"The government needs a clear plan to reduce child poverty and it can take immediate action to support those on the lowest incomes by making sure benefits keep pace with the soaring cost of living in the tough months ahead."

The findings are published as Action for Children launches its new Star in Every Child campaign to help its key workers deliver life-changing support to vulnerable children and give them a bright future.