A post by Pocketful of Rye, sharing the results of a survey commissioned by the leading online UK voucher, coupon and discount deals website, My Voucher Codes, shows some results from research into family lives and the main concerns parents have for their children's future.
The results after asking over 1000 UK families showed that 44% of parents were concerned about financial instability and the economy, 40% were worrying mainly about the threat of terrorism and extremism, 37% thought houses prices and high rents were a big worry, 24% felt uneasy about about crime, 14% were concerned by bullying and 11% were on edge about drugs.The survey also looked at results from different regional areas:-London – Financial instability and economy – 48%Scotland – Extremism, terrorism and safety – 30%
South West – Extremism, terrorism and safety – 43%
South East – House prices and high rents – 75%
Wales – Financial instability and economy – 60%
West Midlands – Financial instability and economy – 71%
East Midlands – House prices and high rents – 40%
Yorkshire & the Humber – Financial instability and economy – 60%
North East – Financial instability and economy – 57%
North West – Extremism, terrorism and safety – 68%
Northern Ireland – House prices and high rents – 33%In the North East, where we live, financial instability and the economy were the most predominant worries. This doesn't actually surprise me. There are a lot of people in the North East out of work, relying heavily on the benefit system and living in social housing. I worry daily about the little man, whether it's the fact he hasn't eaten his dinner, isn't reciting his 9 times table or something much more serious like struggling to find a job later in life. Nowadays, a job is very rarely 'for life'. Work can be hard to come by and even harder to keep. When I left school at 16, I was lucky that I walked straight into a reasonably well paid job and have worked and studied ever since. I worry that when the little man is older he'll struggle to find a career, struggle to earn a reasonable wage and struggle to be self sufficient. I also worry about how hard it will be for him to get onto the property ladder, house prices rise but the average wage doesn't increase enough to allow people to have a disposable income and the luxury of saving regularly towards a deposit. The average wage isn't usually enough to get onto the property ladder and parents often need to contribute if they wish their child to own their own home. My own Mother paid for over half of our mortgage deposit which we were extremely grateful for. Although my husband and I both worked full time we struggled to pay off old debt, pay rent and save enough each month towards a house deposit, we didn't by our first home until we were in our late 20's and I suspect this age will continue to rise.