UK is 'sleepwalking into crisis of childhood', charity warns | Society | The Guardian - 0 views
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A survey of 5,000 children, parents and grandparents by the charity Action for Children (ACF) found a strong shared perception that modern childhoods were getting worse amid what the charity called unprecedented social pressures
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Two-thirds of parents and grandparents felt childhood was getting worse, and a third of children agreed. All agreed bullying – both online and offline – was the main problem, followed by pressure to fit in socially, which had become more intense as a result of social media.
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Children from low-income families were significantly more likely than their wealthier counterparts to report worries
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Roughly half said they were anxious about poverty and homelessness, terrorism, inequality and the environment
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“The country is sleepwalking into a crisis in childhood and, far from being carefree, our children are buckling under the weight of unprecedented social pressures, global turmoil and a void in government policy which should keep them well and safe.
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Children from low income families were strikingly more pessimistic about their childhoods: 39% thought childhood was getting worse, compared to 25% from higher income backgrounds. Poorer children were significantly more likely to worry about not having enough money (44% to 18%)
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By the same token, the poorest children had greater concerns about their mental health (31% compared to 20% of those from higher income families), and were also more likely to be worried about the mental and physical health of family and friends (34% to 24%)
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Louise Baroy, 43, a single parent from Newcastle, said she felt her children worried more, and about more things, than she had when she was young. “They ask me things like: ‘Will the world still be here when I’m older?’ or: ‘Are we poor?’ I have to sit down and talk to them to put things in perspective. I say we’ll always be OK, because you have got me. We are poor but so are a lot of people, and it doesn’t matter.”