The cost of living crisis is having a deeply damaging impact on children’s play, with parents living on the breadline opting to cut back on children’s leisure activities, according to a west London community group.
Susan Rudnik, CEO of Latimer Community Art Therapy, which provides art psychotherapy in 16 schools and runs a community centre in the Henry Dickens estate for children near the Grenfell Tower, said: “Tightening budgets mean many parents cannot afford to take their children anywhere that is not free.”
The 45-year-old arts psychotherapist who also lectures at Goldsmith’s, University of London, added: “Stressed parents are less available physically and mentally and can’t engage children in a fun way. Children want their parents to feel less tense and so they put their needs on the back-burner so not to stress mum and dad.”
Every Saturday morning, before the art therapy centre staff open up, children come knocking, asking for food.
Faye Murray, 42, a mother of six children who works part-time at the centre, said: “They haven’t had breakfast, so we invite them in and give them some fruit and toast. Children are honest. When they are hungry, they grab food with urgency. We are seeing a lot of that.”
Faye, who lives with her partner and their children in a flat on the estate and relies on universal credit to top up their joint income, said: “Our electricity is on a pre-paid meter and whenever it’s about to run out, the meter starts to beep.
“It means a dash down to the Co-op to charge up the key, often at night, and then returning to a pitch black flat, torch at the ready.”
She added: “Sometimes when I am cooking there is a loud ‘donk’ sound and everything goes out and you think, has the electricity gone again? Other times I am working here at the centre and one of my kids comes charging through the door shouting, ‘the electricity’s gone, the electricity’s gone’ and I am like ‘you’re joking!’ It stops you in your tracks. You think is this actually happening to me in 2022?”
Faye tells her children: “If you’re cold, it’s bed socks, dressing gowns and pyjamas.” Her strategy is “heat the person, not the room”. Unexpected expenses bring anxiety. “If one of my kids needs new trainers, it fills me with dread. My 11-year-old lost his coat. I shopped around for weeks until I found one at half-price for £9.”
Another parent whose children attend the art centre, Simone, 47, a single mother of six of whom three live at home, said her son, a bursary student at the Royal Ballet School, constantly needs ballet shoes, leotards and tights.
The 47-year-old part-time cleaner said: “I run out of money about 10 days before I get paid and have to turn to my mum for help with basics like food shopping. I started using a food bank once a week, although I feel a bit guilty because there are people more in need. I told the children we can’t afford new clothes, that we now rely on charity shops. Our washing machine broke down and we used our neighbour’s one until I saved enough to club together with my older kids to buy a new one for £400.”
For local children, the art therapy centre is a home from home where they enjoy cooking, crafts, football, table tennis and arts therapy — and occasional trips to cinemas and adventure centres. But with a sharp rise in children attending, Ms Rudnik said their resources were being stretched. She added: “We support 1,070 children a year on a budget of £650,000 Your appeal comes at an opportune time.”
