One in four children are worried their family doesn't have enough money

We can't believe children are already concerned about this...

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Worrying about making ends meet is something that's normally a chief concern for parents.

But now new research has revealed that fears surrounding family finances have filtered down to school-aged children, with one in four admitting that they're sad or worried about their families not having enough money.

Questioning 1,323 children aged between 10 and 15 the survey was undertaken by YouGov as part of the Mental Health Foundation’s Make It Count campaign, and examined the key sources of anxiety in young people.

On the findings Mark Rowland, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation said:

'Our survey highlights that many children are seriously worried about their parents’ finances. We have a responsibility to help children to deal with this and other pressures they are facing in today’s society.

'This is why we’re calling for mental health to be at the heart of what children learn in school. Schools can play a much bigger role in equipping children with the skills they need.'

Further figures from the latest child and adolescent mental health statistics for England, showed that children living in households in the lowest 20 per cent income bracket are twice as likely to develop mental health problems when compared to those living in households in the highest 20 per cent income bracket.

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The link between family income and child mental health also appears to have been revealed by the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) first study on the extent of loneliness in children and young adults.

Overall it found that 11.3 per cent of children aged ten to 15 said they often felt lonely, with this figure increasing to 14 per cent among ten to 12-year-olds.

And crucially it revealed that 27.5 per cent of children who received free school meals said they were often lonely, compared with 5.5 per cent of those who didn't receive them.

On the findings ONS statistician Dawn Snape said: ‘We have looked at how often children and young people feel lonely and why. An important factor is going through transitional life stages such as the move from primary to secondary school and, later, leaving school or higher education and adapting to early adult life.’

Freelance Lifestyle Writer

Miriam Habtesellasie is a freelance lifestyle writer who has contributed content to GoodTo, Woman&Home, Women and Idealhome.co.uk. Miriam is based in London and is a fan of everything interiors, she admits to being spoilt for choice living in the capital. From stunning architecture right the way through to eye-catching department store window displays, she believes there’s always an angle to be found that can translate to our abodes.