In Oldham, many families struggle with child poverty, leading to tough choices. Some parents even pawn cherished items to provide for their children during difficult times.
Oldham: A young woman is pushing a pram down Featherstall Road. Her little boy, Zayaan, is happily zooming a toy car around, completely unaware of the closed shops nearby.
One shop has a sign saying it was repossessed. Zayaan doesn’t notice the litter piling up in the back alleys. Sadly, kids like him in Oldham face high levels of poverty.
“That doesn’t surprise me at all,” says his 21-year-old mom, Nadia. She thinks the stats are shocking but feels okay personally. This year, child poverty in the area hit 54 percent.
That means one in two kids live in homes with low incomes. In Oldham, where kids make up a big part of the population, that’s nearly 28,000 children. The effects can be serious, from school struggles to health issues.
For parents, the biggest challenge is just putting food on the table. Jane, 29, shares her story at a bus stop, rocking her toddler while pushing a pram. She recently lost her job after missing work due to her child’s health issues.
“There’s nothing left at the end of the month,” she says. Jane can’t afford the £700 monthly childcare fees. “They say early education is important, but I can’t afford it!”
With rent and bills piling up, she’s in a tough spot. “My youngest is still on formula. I had to stop breastfeeding because I couldn’t work while doing it.”
Since losing her job, Jane feels the pressure even more. “I’m always making tough choices about what we need,” she explains. “I can’t even afford train fares. I just have to walk.”
Another young mom, who wants to stay anonymous, shares her struggles too. “Sometimes I sit alone and think: how am I going to do this?” she says. She’s had to borrow money from family often.
She even pawned her mother’s ring to buy Christmas gifts for her kids. “It was a hard choice, but my kids come first,” she explains. “The cost of living is just too high.”
Another mother mentions her younger brother, who just became a dad at 17. “He finds ways to get money for his daughter, even if they’re not good ways,” she says. “I have to turn a blind eye.”
Liana, 40, agrees that it’s getting harder to afford basics. “I make a grocery list, but when I get to the checkout, I have to cut things out,” she says. “We used to spend £50 to £80, now it’s £180 or more.”
She had to stop working due to health issues and feels the stress. “The government needs to help single mothers and those who can’t work,” she adds.
The new Labour government is working on a child poverty taskforce. They plan to tackle the issue across the UK. A spokesperson said, “No child should be in poverty.”
But for now, half of the kids in Oldham face a tough reality. “I grew up here, but I wish I could live anywhere else,” Nadia says, looking at her son. Zayaan holds out his toy car, offering it to us.
