UK's poorest children bearing burden of the recession, says Save the Children
Centre for Social Justice calls for radical change to the fight against child poverty
Britain's poorest children are having their parents go hungry to feed them, missing regular hot meals, unable to afford warm coats and new shoes and suffering enormous emotional strain, according to a new report by Save the Children: Child Poverty 2012: It Shouldn't Happen Here.
The Centre for Social Justice responded to the report by saying that United Kingdom requires a radical change in the approach to fighting child poverty.
It Shouldn't Happen Here claims that one in eight of the poorest children in the UK go without at least one hot meal a day, and one in ten of the UK's poorest parents have cut back on food for them to make sure their children have enough to eat.
In a snapshot of family life under pressure, the survey finds that children worry about their family not having enough money, with more than half of those living in poverty saying the lack of cash made their parents unhappy or stressed.
Almost a quarter of the poorest parents say they are arguing more or snap at their children because of their money troubles.
Nearly a fifth of children living in poverty say they miss out on school trips because their parents haven't got the money. 80% of parents admitted that they were borrowing more money for essentials such as food and clothes.
Save the Children says that witnessing the financial worries of their parents is placing an impossible burden on children, when they should be concentrating on school and their future careers.
The charity is aiming to raise £500,000 to help fund our work in Britain, targeting the poorest children. This is the first time it has appealed to the UK public for funds to help children at home.
The Centre for Social Justice, responding to the report, told The Telegraph that one of the first things the Government must do is change the arbitrary definition of poverty. Christian Guy, the CSJ's Managing Director, added that the Uk needs to look at the root causes of poverty, such as: family breakdown, addiction, poor educational attainment, debt and worklessness.