Young families are at 'breaking point'
Forty per cent of parents with children under five have felt at 'breakin point' because of the stress and strains of family life, according to a YouGov Survey.
A further 63 per cent acknowledge that their stress can damage their relationship with their children, with 93 per cent understanding the impact this could have on their children's future mental and physical wellbeing.
The study, commissioned by leading family support charity, Home-Start UK, comes at a time when the demand for Home-Start volunteers to provide families with practical and emotional support is greater than ever before.
Home-Start's Director for Fundraising and Communications, Vivien Waterfield, says: "Every year 35,000 families who feel they have nobody to turn to are turning to us for help as they face crises such as poverty and isolation.
"We support almost 73,000 vulnerable children across the UK and our services are being stretched. In some parts of the country we just cannot keep up with deman.
"We believe that there are an unacceptable number of families at breaking point, and without the funding we need, we are forced to turn away potential volunteers because we simply do not have the money to train them. And the inevitable consequence is that struggling families and vulnerable children are left without much needed support."
The survey confirms that 67 per cent of parents with children under five understand the negative effect their money worries and family problems have on their children.
It marks the launch of Home-Start's 'Childhood Starts Now' campaign to raise funds to help continue its work with the UK's families at breaking point.