Cost of living: How Sheffield’s poverty scuppers children’s long-term development

Dr Emma Blakey, a developmental psychologist and senior lecturer at the University of Sheffield, said research shows the longer families experience poverty, the more severe the impact is on a child.

She said: “This is why it’s so important we have policies in place that support families with basic needs and their wellbeing, and the government invests in high quality and affordable childcare. Unfortunately, many struggling families are being left behind and this is unacceptable.”

According to Dr Blakey, there is a link between low income and poor early literacy and language skills. This results in children from impoverished backgrounds being a year behind in terms of development compared to their peers at school.

Furthermore, one study found children who have experienced continued impoverishment have cognitive development scores that are 20% lower than children not in poverty. These are believed to be caused by developmental differences in the frontal and temporal lobes of a child’s brain.

Dr Blakey has warned how poverty is often paired with poor nutrition and no access to stimulating learning at home, which could impact cognitive development.

She said: “Poorer cognitive development may lead to struggling in school compared to more advantaged children who have had access to nutritional food and resources.”

In addition, Joseph Rowntree Foundation research has found children from low-income backgrounds are more likely to develop special educational needs.

Another key factor of poverty often forgotten: sleep. With many families struggling to afford a bed or cot for their children. The biggest risk of not having a safe place to sleep is sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), also known as ‘cot death’, which sees around 200 deaths every year in the UK.

While Sheffield charity Baby Basics sourced 197 cot beds in the last 12 months, it says the need outweighs these numbers.

Vicki Beevers, CEO of The Sleep Charity, which campaigns to raise awareness of the value of good quality sleep, said: “Good quality, adequate sleep plays a vital role in supporting the wellbeing of youngsters. Sleep deprivation can have a devastating impact on mental, emotional and physical well-being of not just the child but the parents and carers.

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“In order to sleep well, youngsters need a safe and comfortable environment which is why the work that Baby Basics is carrying out is so important.”

Jenny Ward, Chief Executive of The Lullaby Trust, said: “There is evidence that deprivation may increase the risk of SIDS and can make following safer sleep advice harder. There are circumstances and environments relating to social deprivation that can make following safer sleep advice particularly difficult, for example, unsuitable and poor housing is a recognised risk factor for sudden infant death."

Dr Blakey added: “A place to sleep means it’s more likely children can get high-quality sleep so that growth and learning – which accelerate during sleep – take place. Poor sleep is linked to less learning and struggling with attention and concentration.”

In general, the home environment is a big factor in the impact poverty has on early child development.

Research has also suggested money worries not also create concerning levels of stress for parents, but children also.

Families under the poverty line live under high levels of uncertainty and strain. And when this is experienced over long periods of time, this stress has adverse effects on a child’s development.

As Dr Blakey explained: “Stressed children release a lot of cortisol which is a normal biological reaction to stress. But when this is sustained over time, it can become dysfunctional and harder to regulate. For a family living in poverty, the most important thing will be getting through each day and having enough food, clean clothes and basic necessities. Spending time, money and resources on learning is much harder in these circumstances.”

Although poverty and the effect it has on childhood development is clear, access to necessities is one step in giving them the best start in life. This is why providing struggling families with essential items in order to relieve some of the financial burden of looking after a child is so important.

Dr Blakey said that whilst poverty is linked to negative long-term effects on wellbeing and learning, she said “it is important to remember that some children can be resilient in these disadvantaged circumstances and negative long-term effects are not inevitable if we pull families out of poverty and support them.”

She added: “It is not acceptable that in a country as developed and rich as the UK, some families are forced to decide between keeping their children warm and keeping them fed, or between clothes or nappies.”