Poverty can mean children going without basic necessities – going to school or to bed hungry, wearing shoes that are too small or let the rain in, or sleeping on a mattress on the floor because there is no money for a bedframe.
Poverty can also mean missing out on everyday fun, play and relaxed time with family because family outings are too expensive.
It can mean being excluded from social activities with friends because there isn’t money for a cinema ticket or a birthday present.
My niece didn’t go on hers [school trip] and she was one of only two children in the whole class of 32 that didn’t go and she cried when I picked her up from school because all her friends had been but she hadn’t been.
Parent of primary school child
Poverty denies children chances to try new things and develop their interests and talents through extra-curricular clubs and even school trips and activities.
The place where she was happy and thrived was in dance classes and I now can’t pay for them and that was the thing she looked forward to every week, she made friends there; she doesn’t have friends at school as such but at dance she had friends, yeah, and we’ve had, we’ve had to stop all that.
Jessica - single parent, York
Poverty affects a child's health even before they are born. Children born to parents living in poverty are more likely to have a low birth weight and less likely to survive the first year of life. They are also more likely to suffer from asthma and other childhood diseases and to experience poor health later in life.
Children in poverty are more likely to have poor mental health and are at higher risk of psychological distress.
Household income is the strongest predictor of how well a child will do in school. Children growing up in poverty on average do less well in education. Even before children start school they fall behind their peers and these gaps persist and widen as school continues.
Children from the lowest-income families are less likely to reach the standard education achievements at age 11, they make slower progress in secondary school, and are much less likely to attend the most selective higher education institutions. This negatively affects how well they do at school, later job opportunities and how much they are able to earn.
For many children, poverty also means growing up too soon – having to deal with adult worries and anxieties when they are still children.
I skip meals to share with my mum...for example, I skip my meal to wait for her to come back and at least we can have the same amount of food...[We] starve together through the whole day, so at least we will have had something to eat.
Amara - aged 15, London
Poverty affects all aspects of childhood. It affects friendships and opportunities, creating isolation, stigma and sadness.
Child poverty is costing the UK money, directly and indirectly. Having so many families and their children in poverty draws huge costs from other government budgets.
Children and adults with poorer physical and mental health mean greater demands on the NHS. If children and young people do less well at school they have lower skill levels and education levels when they enter the workforce. The effects of poverty mean that extra public services are needed to try to support children, parents, families and society.
Ending child poverty benefits us all.
Together as a community, we’re demanding real action from the UK’s leaders to give kids the security they need by helping families who don’t have enough money.
