New study: Children in poverty miss summer holiday activities
While families are busy planning summer vacations, many children in poverty can look forward to a long summer in their home. A new study suggests that for children in financially challenged families, summer vacations are a time without activities and a longing for experiences with family and friends that they cannot afford.
"I had nowhere to go. I did not go anywhere and just sat at home".
These are the words of one of the more than 1,000 children from financially challenged families who, along with more than 7,000 parents, share their experiences and dreams about their summer holidays in a new survey.
The study shows that more than 80% of the families did not go on a one-week summer holiday last year because most of them could not afford it. 40% of the children stayed at home and did not participate in other activities such as trips away from home.
"It is worrying that so many children have to spend their summer at home without going on holiday or something as simple as a day trip with their family. When children in poverty miss out on very basic holiday experiences with their family and friends, they end up being excluded from the communities that other children are part of and which are crucial for a thriving childhood," says Heidi Sørensen, Director of Egmont Grant Administration, which in collaboration with Rambøll and Dansk Folkehjælp is behind the study.
Despite than 80% of the parents in the survey agree that their children missed out on experiences during the summer holiday last year, nearly 40% of them state that this year their children will once again have to stay at home solely because of financial constraints. Additionally, an increasing number of families are applying for financial help for their holidays.
"Every year, Dansk Folkehjælp helps many financially challenged families with children to go on summer holidays, but the need for help is far greater. This confirms that far too many children continue to grow up in poverty. It leads to unhappiness, loneliness and exclusion and often leaves negative traces in the children’s adult lives. This calls for political responsibility and for us to continue to combine direct aid with more holistic social initiatives,” says Mirka Mozer, Secretary General of Dansk Folkehjælp.
Dreaming of a summer holiday like everyone else
Many of the children in the study dream of a summer holiday like many other children have. For more than half of the children, it is important to experience something exciting during the summer holiday this year. For 38%, it is important to be together with family, 33% would like to experience something they can talk about at school, and 30% would like to do something different than what they usually do. However, almost a third of the children rarely or never talk to their parents about their summer holiday wishes if they know their parents can't afford it.
"The children's wishes are not extravagant. While many would of course like to go abroad, they are mainly looking for relatively modest summer holiday experiences such as experiencing something with the family, going on a trip to a holiday home, or doing something exciting that they can talk about at school after the holiday. Experiences that give them a break from everyday life and support the sense of community within the family and among friends," says Heidi Sørensen from Egmont Grant Administration.