The effects of child poverty and the cost of living crisis

Child poverty can have a wide range of negative effects on children, including:

• Poorer physical and mental health
• Lower educational attainment
• Social exclusion
• Limited life opportunities.

Child poverty can stem from difficulty affording basic necessities like food, clothing and heating, which impacts a child's overall development and wellbeing throughout life.

As a country we are now in the middle of a cost of living crisis, where the prices of essential goods like food, energy, and housing has rapidly increased, outpacing the growth of most people's incomes. This is leading to a significant decline in real living standards. 

The aim of this section is to signpost Thurrock parent and carers to all the support on offer, helping them provide safe, healthy and happy lives for their children.

This section will be looking at financial support, benefit support and local charities.

We understand that providing activities and experiences for your children can also be expensive, so you will find another section further down this webpage advertising all our free local community events for Thurrock children and families.