It shouldn't be like this... kids must have the food they need

Parents are feeling guilty at having to deny their children food or heating. Thomas Kingsley hears their stories

THEY call it “mum guilt” — the guilt that comes with constantly having to tell your children to turn off the lights, turn off the heating and that, no, they can’t have any treats.

Charlene Richardson, a mother of two, said she was constantly watching her electricity and switching off items at the plugs. “We have gone back to survival of the fittest,” she said. “It makes you wonder — are we actually going to be living through apocalyptic times where people who have electricity are going to be higher up in society?

Charlene was speaking at Loughborough Community Centre in south London where low-income parents come for meal support and childcare — and an opportunity to open up about the harsh realities besieging them in the cost-of-living crisis. The charity is one that will be eligible to benefit from our On the Breadline Christmas campaign, in partnership with the Childhood Trust.