Counsellors say even primary pupils have credit crunch worries

Published on Monday 5 January 2009 08:47

EVEN ten-year-olds are stressed over the credit crunch, with growing numbers of primary school pupils wanting to talk to counsellors about their fears.

Counsellors with a charity working in primaries in the Capital say they have seen a rise in the number of youngsters asking to talk through their concerns about parents losing their jobs, money worries and even having to move house as a result of both.

The Place2Be, a charity which offers drop-in counselling sessions in ten city primaries, says children are picking up on the current "uncertainty" through family members and television.

They say the pupils often feel that they have to adopt an adult role and take these problems on themselves. The charity offers youngsters a place to go to air their worries and between 70 and 80 per cent of children in each school use the service.

A survey of eight to 15-year-olds commissioned by Sainsbury's shows that a third of ten and 11-year-olds are concerned about the credit crunch.

Rebecca Quinn, who works in schools in some of Edinburgh's most deprived communities, said money worries are an everyday problem for some children.

One child in particular is a regular user of the Place2Talk lunch time drop-in sessions because financial concerns are a "chronic issue" for him. He is worried about his mother – the household's sole earner – losing her job and how the family would pay the bills.

Miss Quinn said: "The child feels they can't talk to mum or family because they might get worried or upset, which is what we are here for. I often get children coming to talk to me about having to move house, about parents losing jobs, and a lot of children are taking on the adult role.

"It's not about making the situation better for that child because I can't wave a magic wand, it's about creating a safe space with an adult who is there to listen."

Even young children have picked up on parents' financial concerns, but the problem appears to have been magnified by the credit crunch, added Miss Quinn. "Parents would be surprised by how much children worry about this kind of thing."

The Place2B provides services in Longstone, St Francis, St Catherine's, Balgreen, Murrayburn, Longstone, Burdiehouse, Canal View, Craigroyston and Forthview primaries. The charity offers sessions at break times.

Frances Griffin, the charity's Edinburgh Hub Manager, said: "There is a lot of uncertainty at the moment and it's often very difficult for children to talk about these kinds of things at home."