More than one in 20 children (6%) are sleeping on the floor due to not having a bed of their own in the last 12 months, according to a new YouGov survey for children’s charity Barnardo’s.
Around one in ten children (9%) also said they had shared a bed with another member of their family because they didn’t have a bed of their own.
The charity commissioned YouGov which surveyed 1,049 parents (with children under 18) and 1,013 children (aged 8-17) in GB*.
Based on these findings, Barnardo’s believes this means that there could be around 700,000 children sharing beds and 440,000 children sleeping on the floor because they don’t have a bed of their own.
One in 12 parents (8%) said their children were ‘tired all of the time’ due to not having their own bed.
Of the children who said they had to share a bed, many said it left them feeling tired the next day during school lessons, embarrassed (e.g. when going through puberty), anxious or unhappy.
Barnardo’s frontline workers remain extremely concerned about the impact the cost-of-living crisis is having on struggling families and children, illustrated by this stark issue of ‘bed poverty’.
The charity recently surveyed 100 of its frontline staff who had provided beds or bedding to children, young people and families struggling to afford the basics. They provided countless examples of families unable to afford to replace or repair broken beds, sharing beds, sleeping on the floor or a sofa and using broken or dirty mattresses. They also heard from families using inadequate bedding that didn’t provide enough warmth in freezing temperatures, such as sheets, or bedding which was dirty, mouldy or soiled, including cots.
Between October 2022 and September 2023, the charity’s crisis support has helped 7,200 families, including helping them to buy beds, mattresses, duvets, blankets and sheets.
One Barnardo’s worker said: “I often see families sharing mattresses on the floor with no sheets on or badly soiled duvets. These items come very low on the list of items to purchase when families are struggling to make ends meet, especially since the rise in food bills and heating bills. On some occasions children and mum are all sleeping in one bed.”
Another Barnardo’s worker supported a family after the father had a sudden illness that left him paralysed and in hospital for a year. She said: “The four children were all sleeping on old mattresses on the floor with minimal bedding. The children couldn’t get proper sleep and they were going to school tired. This was affecting their concentration and therefore their ability to learn.”
Lynn Perry MBE, Barnardo’s CEO, said:
“It is unacceptable that at least one child in every classroom is sleeping in the floor because they don’t have a bed of their own, in one of the richest countries in the world.
“Bed poverty is just one aspect of child poverty, yet it starkly illustrates the challenges faced by families not having enough money to afford the essentials needed to raise happy and healthy children.
“Families in crisis are having to prioritise essentials such as food, heating and electricity over things like replacing mouldy bedding or fixing a rotten or broken bed. Children are sharing beds and sleeping on the floor, all of which is affecting their development, attendance at school and their mental health.
“The Government must take urgent action to address these deep-rooted issues.”
