ALMOST 180,000 parents with young children in the south west including Dorset are struggling financially or with their mental health - as almost 3 in 10 struggle to get professional support.

A report from UNICEF UK, ‘Early Moments Matter’ is a stark snapshot of families struggling to get professional support for themselves and their children as they recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, battle increases in the costs of basic essentials and grapple with expensive childcare costs.

In the south west 57 per cent of parents say they are struggling with their mental health and 67 per cent have been negatively affected by the rising cost of living.

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Parents with young children also cite a lack of support as a key factor in their struggle, with three in 10 struggling to see a health care professional when their child is unwell as services are stretched.

Furthermore, parents in the south west with young children are being forced to make impossible decision due to the cost-of-living increases as the poll reveals more than one in 13 parents are skipping meals to pay for childcare.

For those parents already feeling the pinch from the rising cost of living, over four in 10 have cut back on their electricity and gas usage with almost one in 10 unable to properly heat their home as winter approaches.

UNICEF UK warns that the first years of a child’s life are critical, and the lack of basic support is putting children’s immediate and long-term wellbeing and development at risk. The report highlights how basic support services like health visiting, mental health support, affordable early education and childcare should be available for everyone regardless of where they live – but instead gaps in availability means families across the country are missing out.

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UNICEF UK’s chief executive, Jon Sparkes OBE, said: “Where you’re going in life shouldn’t be determined by where you live and the support and services your parents and carers are able to access in that location when you are a young child.”

The children’s charity is calling for a re-think in baby and toddler services and improved support for our youngest citizens and their families by introducing a ‘National Baby and Toddler Guarantee,’ which would set out the basic services that every young child in the UK is entitled to – whoever they are and wherever they are born.