Children of the crash are healthier and friendlier, study suggests

Children of Ireland’s economic crash are healthier and friendlier despite their families suffering more financial hardship than Celtic Tiger parents, a snapshot of nine-year-olds suggests.

The latest tranche of reports from the Growing up in Ireland study also shows those born during the bust are more likely to have a mother working, a mother born outside Ireland and to live in a two-parent family.

Researchers for the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) have been following the progress of thousands of children born in 2008, and comparing them with them with those born a decade earlier.

Latest analysis shows families of nine-year-olds last year were more likely to be experiencing financial stress than those in the year leading up to the recession.

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The proportion of families enduring financial stress more than doubled among the group of children between the time they were nine-months-old to aged five. Those levels dropped again in line with rising employment, but they have still not returned to pre-crash levels.

The study shows less than half of families of children born during the crash have seen their fortunes improve in recent years, but the financial circumstances of almost a sixth are getting worse. Four in ten have seen no difference.

One-parent families and those where mothers have lower levels of education suffer the most. More than a quarter of one-parent families are experiencing financial stress, compared to one in ten two-parent families

The study shows more nine-year-olds today are reported as very healthy than a decade ago, up from 73 per cent to 79 per cent. However, there are “noticeable inequalities” linked to family incomes, the ESRI noted.

Ailments

Respiratory conditions, like asthma, behavioural or mental conditions and skin conditions are the top three most common ailments of children born at the onset of the downturn.

More than a fifth of nine-year-olds now are overweight or obese, with girls more likely to be so than boys. But girls are also less likely to be overweight or obese than they were during the Celtic Tiger years. Children now eat more fruit and vegetables, the study shows.

However, there has been no difference in levels of physical activity, with only a quarter of nine-year-olds notching up the recommended level of exercise or more than one hour every day.

Soccer outscores Gaelic football in the popularity stakes among boys, with 70 per cent of boys playing the imported sport compared to just more than half (52 per cent) paying the national game. Less than a third play hurling.

Swimming is most popular with girls, followed by Gaelic football and dance.

The study also reveals small changes in friendship patterns between crash-era children and their Celtic Tiger elders.

Some 55 per cent of nine-year-olds now have four or more close friends compared to 51 per cent a decade ago. But there has been a slight drop in the number playing with their friends at least twice a week.

Seven per cent of recession children have none or just one friend.

Despite the advances in gender equality, the study shows girls are more likely than boys to help with household chores, and more likely to do so in a traditionally female role, such as helping with brothers and sisters, washing the dishes, vacuuming and cleaning.

Boys are still more likely to put out the bins, help in the garden and clean the car.

Degree

Children of the crash also have higher expectations to live up to in terms of their education.

More parents expect their children now to obtain a degree or higher qualification compared to ten years ago, and girls have even more expectation placed on them, with third level success expected of 86 per cent compared to 79 per cent of boys.