Through young eyes: The Children’s Commission on poverty

There are currently over 3 million children living in poverty in the UK today and living standards are set to be a key battleground in the next general election. Yet the voices of children are largely absent from the debates on poverty, an issue that can dramatically alter the course of their lives. Children’s views are not being heard and they do not have a significant say in decisions that affect their lives. We believe it is time to start listening and to raise the stakes by highlighting the impact that poverty has on children’s lives.

Children are not only able to share with us a deep and personal account of their experiences of poverty, but can also suggest powerful ways in which their lives could be improved.

That is why The Children’s Society has set up The Children’s Commission on Poverty – to make sure children’s views are at the heart of the debate on childhood poverty. It will explore children’s attitudes to childhood poverty and discover what it means for children to live in families desperately struggling to make ends meet. Importantly, it will begin to ask what can be done to improve living standards for the most vulnerable groups of young people.

The commission will bring a fresh and compelling perspective on what real support should look like, what poverty really means to a range of children and young people, and – we hope – provide much needed ideas as to what needs to change to deliver better futures for children in poverty.

We want the work of the commission to start a fresh debate around childhood poverty that recognises the impact of poverty on the current generation of children and young people. We hope the commission will spark debate at all levels of society – in people’s homes, in their workplaces and across their everyday lives, as well as in government and the media. If we are to tackle childhood poverty, first we must understand it. As a nation, we must learn to see life through young eyes.