Bruce Leeke, Ormiston Families Chief Executive, says the cost of living crisis poses more than just financial worries for families.
For those of us working with children and families, the impact of the cost of living crisis is not new.
Teachers see it in the child who arrives at school tired or hungry. Social workers see the pressure it places on parents already struggling to cope. Those working in children’s services see how financial insecurity can compound existing difficulties, affecting relationships, housing, physical health and emotional wellbeing.
For families, financial pressure is rarely just about money. It can become a constant source of anxiety: worrying about the next bill, whether there will be enough food until payday, how to afford childcare or whether the children will miss out on the experiences their friends take for granted.
And children feel that pressure too.
Recent research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that almost half of low-income households said the cost of living had negatively affected their mental health, while 45% said it had affected their sleep.
These are not simply financial statistics. They describe the conditions in which families are trying to parent, learn, work and maintain relationships.
Small measures can make a difference
There is value in measures that give families some immediate breathing space. This summer, for example, the Government introduced a temporary reduction in VAT from 20% to 5% on children’s meals and a range of family attractions, including cinemas, museums, zoos and theme parks.
It is a welcome recognition that families need opportunities to enjoy time together, not simply to survive.
But for many families, a few pounds off a family day out is a drop in the ocean when set against the wider pressures they face.
A temporary measure cannot resolve the underlying insecurity experienced by families who are struggling with food, housing, energy, childcare and debt.
That is why we need to think beyond individual interventions.
Looking beyond the immediate crisis
If we want to improve children’s mental health, we also need to pay attention to the conditions in which children are growing up.
This means recognising the links between poverty, family stress and mental health, and investing in prevention as well as crisis response.
It means making sure families can access support before difficulties escalate, and that services work together rather than asking families to navigate a series of disconnected systems.
The Children’s Commissioner has made a similar point, arguing that children’s mental health cannot be treated in isolation from education, care, physical wellbeing and the wider conditions of childhood.
For professionals working with families, this is something we see every day. A child’s anxiety may not begin with a mental health problem. It may begin with a parent losing work, a family facing eviction, the stress of debt, or the exhaustion of constantly having to make impossible choices.
So the answer cannot simply be more services at the point when a family reaches crisis.
We need long-term thinking: policies that improve household security, affordable housing, access to childcare, employment and income; sustained investment in early help; and services that recognise the whole family rather than focusing on one problem at a time.
Giving families room to breathe
There is no single solution to the pressures families face. But we can make a difference by creating the conditions in which families have a greater chance to thrive.
That means valuing the small moments of connection – a meal together, a day out, a child being able to take part in an activity – while also tackling the much bigger issues that determine whether families have enough security to enjoy those moments in the first place.
The summer VAT reduction is a useful example of immediate support. But if we are serious about improving children’s mental health and wellbeing, we need to look much further ahead.
For the professionals supporting children and families, that means continuing to make the connections between financial wellbeing, family relationships and mental health visible. And it means making the case for long-term, preventative approaches that reduce pressure on families before they reach breaking point.
Because helping families to cope with the cost of living is not only about helping them make ends meet.
It is about giving children the stability, security and opportunity they need to grow up well.
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