As the school summer holidays get underway, a new survey commissioned by Turn2us, part of the national charity Elizabeth Finn Care, reveals the financial and social struggle that parents will face as they grapple with childcare arrangements and costs. Seven out of ten (70%) parents surveyed said they are worried about childcare arrangements during the forthcoming summer holidays, with over a quarter (28%) saying they are worried about the additional childcare costs they will incur.

Indeed, one in four (25%) parents admit they will have difficulty paying household bills because summer is such an expensive time. Worryingly, the consequence is that parents will put themselves into debt to make it through the next few weeks, with over one in five (22%) saying they will rely on their overdrafts to survive and a fifth (20%) planning to turn to credit cards.

Alison Taylor, Director of Turn2us said: “Parents across the UK are very worried about the extra financial cost the school summer holidays bring, but we know that people aren’t always claiming all the financial support available to them. Government figures show that a staggering £6.4 billion of Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit goes unclaimed each year.”

Financial pressures mean that parents are making difficult and potentially risky decisions when arranging childcare, with over one in ten (13%) admitting they have had to leave younger children in the care of older siblings when they go to work. The challenge of arranging childcare is complicated further if parents aren’t granted time off work, and almost one in six (16%) parents claim that their bosses are not sympathetic to their annual leave requests over the summer and almost one in six (15%) parents have pretended to be sick to get time off to look after their children.

Rob Tolan, Head of Policy and Research at Elizabeth Finn Care said: “Paying for childcare over the summer holidays will bring added financial pressure to families who are already struggling with rising food costs, soaring petrol prices and rocketing energy bills on top of having their incomes dented by freezes in child benefit, reductions in tax credits, lower wages and job losses. It is more important than ever that people check that they are claiming all the welfare benefits that they are entitled to.”

Commenting on the Turn2us research, Jeremy Todd, Chief Executive of Family Lives said: “The latest evidence from Turn2us indicates that if the right support isn’t in place or financial information readily accessible this can place a great strain on family relationships and the mental health and wellbeing of both parent and child.   Families that we are in touch with are telling us that their single biggest worry is making ends meet and the likely conflict and stress that this can cause.  Complicated childcare arrangements, financial pressures and trying to keep bored children occupied during the long summer break can lead to many parents dreading the holidays.”

Turn2us is encouraging parents to check their eligibility for additional financial support. Anyone can visit the free website www.turn2us.org.uk in confidence to find out what welfare benefits or charitable grants they may be eligible for, to help reduce the financial pressures.