Family life is a fundamental pillar to children and young people’s health, safety and wellbeing. Parents, carers and children need support systems to help them succeed. However, today, so many families encounter hardships that can impact their lives.
Firstly, it is crucial to highlight the importance of support networks for young people. Services like Childline offer free support, providing a lifeline for those who may feel isolated or overwhelmed. Campaigns promoting awareness of these resources should be more widespread. Asking for help should not be seen as a bad thing and every child and young person should know that they have a reliable resource to turn to in times of need.
Secondly, as of 2023, 12% of children are in food poverty, and 21% of children live in food insecure households. The cost-of-living crisis has only made things worse, with many families struggling to make ends meet. We need to have programmes and initiatives in place immediately that address economic inequalities and provide support to those families in need that go beyond what food banks and free school meals can do. No child should grow up in poverty. No family should have to deal with food insecurity. Everyone should have enough money for children to be safe, to have a home, adequate clothing and food.
Thirdly, we need to invest in family wellbeing and resilience. We need to make sure that families have support systems in place to succeed. In schools, in sports centres and in religious communities, we need to make sure that children of all backgrounds can thrive and we need to ask important questions like: “How are you doing?” and: “How are you dealing with these challenging times?”
For a lot of children and young people, family is who they will spend the most time with.
Family life is so important. Families who have a member with a disability might need even more support, as life can be more challenging. For them, things that might seem simple for other families, such as going out for dinner, could be very difficult and stressful. For example, if a family member is a wheelchair user and the restaurant doesn’t have a ramp or lift, then you would struggle to go in. Or, if a family member has ADHD, they could find being in a loud environment quite overwhelming and struggle to cope. Scenarios like these can be very tricky for all involved. This often means that, for families with disabled members, quality family time can be hard to come by.
These families need more support and they need to know that there is someone there for them. If you have a friend or know someone who is in this situation and has someone disabled in their family, let them know that you will help them if they need it and that you will be there to listen if they want to speak about it.
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In this Kidversation, we meet three children – Asha, Fayeth and Felix, who all use food banks. We find out their stories and listen to their worries and concerns to help us understand more about the role of food banks in society and family life.
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