Chapter 5: Give every child the best start in life

Even before Covid, around 30% of children in the UK were living in poverty, which is an enormous source of stress for families. We know that when parents are overwhelmed by stress, they can struggle to meet the basic emotional and physical needs of their children. This, in turn, can result in adverse effects on a child's physical, emotional and social development. It can impact the development of their brain and immune system, leading to susceptibility to mental health problems and chronic disease, later on in life. (Marmot, M., Allen, J., Boyce, T., Goldblatt, P and Morrison, J. (2020) Health Equity in England: The Marmot Review 10 years on. London: Institute of Health Equity. Fair society healthy live the marmot review (opens new window)) 

Covid-19 has accelerated existing stressors, and added new ones, directly impacting the quality of family life. These include:

• the loss or reduction of family network
• direct experience of loss and bereavement
• increased financial hardship
• interruption to schooling limited access to leisure opportunities, recreational activity and interaction with peers
• mental health difficulties in children and families
• increases in relationship distress as a result of issues such as maintaining contact/co-parenting arrangements, overcrowding, increased alcohol consumption, and increased domestic violence.

We know that adverse childhood experiences have been found to have lifelong impacts on health and behaviour, and there are concerns that problems could be stored up, for some children and young people, and for generations to come.