Stories

Sun, 26 Apr 2026

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 'There's so much I want to give my daughter - poverty means I can't'

Around a third of Welsh children live in poverty, the highest among the four UK nations.

*Parents at a playgroup in Swansea shared their struggles with poverty, revealing that they often have to choose between paying bills or providing for their children's basic needs.
*A single mother, Rebecca, said she cries herself to sleep some nights because she can't afford to give her daughter everything she wants.
*Danielle, another parent, explained how she often has to go without in order to provide for her four children, saying "it's hard to keep above the emergency".
*The Children's Commissioner for Wales, Rocio Cifuentes, urged politicians to reinstate a target to eliminate child poverty, which was dropped in 2016.
*Cifuentes described witnessing families living in deep poverty and seeing heart-breaking stories of children struggling with hunger and unable to afford school supplies.
*The main parties in the upcoming Welsh election have made promises to tackle cost of living issues, including extending free childcare and cutting income tax.