Municipalities must do more to combat child poverty. That is the opinion of the Ombudsman for Children. He is afraid of a rise in child poverty in the autumn. In the municipality of Helmond, the new college wants to do more against child poverty, such as a free breakfast at school.
“Very sympathetic and some children will certainly benefit from it,” says Laura van den Heuvel of the Ombudsman for Children. “But it’s not the whole solution.” In her view, the children themselves are ignored too much in the approach to child poverty. And this problem is becoming increasingly urgent. The high energy bill, expensive groceries and the consequences of the corona crisis will take their toll on many families in the autumn. According to the Ombudsman for Children, municipalities must act quickly and offer broad assistance in all areas that are important for the development of children.
“Children say they find it especially difficult that Mom and Dad are under so much stress”
“Child poverty is treated too much like an adult problem. The debts of the parents must be resolved, for example. All energy is then focused on that. And the best interests of the child are not clearly visible.”
Many children who live in poverty cannot buy a nice Playstation. “But that’s not always what bothers them,” says Van den Heuvel. “They mainly say that they find it difficult that mom and dad have so much stress and sadness.” And so the relationship between parents and children is often under pressure. “You see that parents then have so much stress that there is no longer any loving guidance for the child.”
“Suddenly the school notices that children cannot buy a laptop.”
According to the Ombudsman for Children, people often think ‘your own fault, big bump’. “But after the corona crisis, you see that people have started to talk about poverty differently, that it can happen to anyone.” Corona has made child poverty much more visible. “Suddenly the school noticed that children could not buy a laptop,” says Van den Heuvel. “Or that they were in the bathtub taking classes because the house is too small.”
Child poverty is often passed on from generation to generation. “It does something to your brain,” says Van den Heuvel. “Because of the stress, you can’t plan well ahead. If it is not taught to you by your parents because they were also in poverty, then you cannot later on. You no longer see what is important for the long term.”
“Aldermen should talk to children themselves.”
According to Van den Heuvel, municipalities are now mainly focusing on free laptops or bicycles when it comes to combating child poverty. “Those pots are too narrow and not geared to the needs of children. Apart from the fact that a lot of people don’t find those jars or don’t want to touch them.” That narrow approach can cause a lot of problems later on. “If you don’t pay attention to the broad development of a child, such as education, health and the relationship with parents, then in the future you will end up with adult citizens that are not well developed.”
The Ombudsman for Children therefore calls on aldermen to talk to the children themselves. “The Ombudsman for Children has guidelines on how to do that. There is still an image that children cannot reflect on their own situation, but you can ask them, how is this for you? And what do you need? Every child has different needs.”