Square meals: remember when vulnerable children were going to go hungry during the school holidays because the Tory government couldn’t care less, and had to have its collective mind changed by footballer Marcus Rashford?
Ladies and gentlemen, you are not reading enough social media journalism!
I know – that’s another blanket statement. Disagree with it wildly if you like but as a population, people in the UK have been conditioned to ignore social media journalism by sites like Facebook, that restrict their readership to a tiny fraction of a site’s followers and then try to charge us money to reach even a tiny fraction of the rest.
Let’s try to fix that by promoting sites that provide valuable information that you won’t get from the Tory lackeys in the mainstream media.
In other words, here’s Charlotte Hughes:
Recent studies have shown that hunger and malnourishment can have a severe impact on a child’s mental and physical development, which can ultimately affect their academic performance and life opportunities.
An ever increasing number of children are now living in poverty as a result of the cost of living crisis, increasing energy costs, parents losing their jobs and DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) issues such as benefit sanctions.
According to the End Child Poverty coalition, 4.2 million children in the UK are living in poverty, 2.4 million of whom are living in severe poverty. Poverty is a significant driver of hunger and food insecurity, with many families struggling to afford and find healthy and nutritious food.
The effects of hunger and malnutrition on a child’s learning can be very profound. Children who experience hunger often find it difficult to concentrate and focus, affecting their memory and cognitive abilities.
This can also lead to behavioral issues, affecting their interactions with others and their overall development.
Moreover, poor nutrition can significantly affect a child’s physical development, leading to a lack of energy, poor growth, and an increased likelihood of illness.
One recent study found that children who experienced hunger were more likely to have lower academic performance and to struggle with basic literacy and numeracy. Children who eat more healthily and more varied diets also have better cognitive abilities, and in many cases have better academic outcomes.
Whilst there are interventions such as breakfast clubs and food banks that can help alleviate these problems, and it is vitally important for policymakers, schools, and charities to work together to ensure that all children have access to the resources they need to thrive… sadly at the time of writing the government is very reluctant to help at all. Instead the cost of living crisis and rising energy costs are continuing to increase plunging more children and their families further into poverty.
Is the government doing this purposely? It certainly makes me suspect this. The health and wellbeing of working class children appears to be unimportant to them.
Charlotte doesn’t offer any solutions but it is clear that only one will do: regime change.
We need a different government with better priorities – and, by the way, in This Writer’s opinion Keir Starmer’s Labour simply won’t be good enough.
If you’re not keen to do anything yourself, quite yet, then at least visit the Poor Side of Life website and subscribe to it. Then you’ll be able to keep informed.
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