Seven in ten 11–21-year-olds in Wales fear parents’ cashflow crisis will mean anxious family Christmas

Action for Children research finds young people in Wales acutely aware of the cost of living crisis grip on parents and friends this Christmas as its frontline workers reveal worst family hardship in two years

As Wales gets set for the festive season, new Action for Children research shows the cost of living crisis is far from over and continuing to take its toll on millions of families with children, particularly those on the breadline.  

To support its annual Secret Santa campaign to help the country’s most vulnerable children, the charity commissioned surveys with nearly 3,000 UK children and young people aged 11-21, (318 surveyed in Wales), and over 100 of its frontline staff, to explore the financial pressures facing families with children in the run up to Christmas. 

The research found large numbers of the children and young people polled in Wales are acutely aware of their parents’ or carers’ concerns about money, with seven in ten (70%) of those surveyed feeling those worries will make this Christmas an anxious time1. The survey of 11-21-year-olds in Wales also found: 

Many were also concerned about the hardship facing children or young people they know in their school or peer group, with: 

The cost of living crisis continues to be felt hardest by low-income families with children. The proportion of 11-21-year-olds who felt their parents would be anxious because of money worries, have to sacrifice something special for themselves, be unable to afford presents, a Christmas dinner or keep their house warm, was on average across the UK, 14 percentage points higher for those living in families receiving Universal Credit.  

Action for Children also surveyed its own frontline workers who increasingly have to provide poverty relief to low-income families before any other support. Of the 114 staff:  

This year, food costs overtook energy bills as the biggest financial concern among the families the charity helps (energy bills were cited as the top reason by 30% of staff in 2023 and 45% in 2022).  

Many of its frontline workers provided stark examples of the hardship facing families they were supporting, including: 

Case Study 

Rhys (18) currently lives with his mother on the North Wales coast after living in one of Action for Children’s children’s homes for five years.  Christmas is a source of worry every year with some years the family missing out on a Christmas dinner. 

Rhys said: ‘Christmas is really hard for a lot of families and something I’ve always worried about for my mother.  Every year she struggles to buy presents and there have been times when we haven’t been able to afford Christmas dinner. 

‘The cost-of-living crisis has hit us very hard and it can feel that everything from heating to buying presents is too expensive.  We do our best to help but I can’t help worry about how my mum will cope.’ 

Julie Gillbanks, national director for Action for Children in Wales, said: ‘It’s easy to think that poverty happens elsewhere, but as our research shows the cost of living crisis is still very real for millions of families and continues to impoverish children in every community. 

‘Our frontline workers are supporting children every day: we’ve seen children without a bed sleeping on the floor with just blankets, and families phoning us in tears because they have no money to feed their children. It’s relentless, and it doesn’t stop because it’s Christmas. 

‘Until every family has enough money to keep their child warm and well fed, we will continue to help them. That’s why we’re asking the public to get behind our Secret Santa campaign to help us support our most vulnerable children, not just at Christmas but every day.’ 

To become a Secret Santa and donate to Action for Children visit iamsanta.org.uk