Children's well-being hit by time pressures

Lack of time is one of the greatest threats to children's well-being today, the children's charity Barnardos said yesterday.

Mr Owen Keenan, Barnardos chief executive, said too many parents were under stress trying to meet demands made by work, childcare, schools, banks and traffic.

"What suffers the most is the time they have to spend with their children," he said. "The resultant time poverty has become one of the greatest threats to children's well-being and a major stress factor for parents."

Mr Keenan was speaking at the launch of Barnardos's biggest campaign, Every Child Matters. He said the two-year campaign would highlight the realities of children's lives and ask if that was the kind of Ireland we wanted for our children.

Launching the campaign, broadcaster Eamon Dunphy said a series of advertisements would show how hurt endured in childhood could persist throughout life.

The first part of the campaign highlights the pressures faced by many parents. It is estimated that almost one in three lone-parent households and one in five two-parent households are living in poverty. Some 14 per cent of parents were concerned they could not provide enough food for their children.

Barnardos has called for paid parental leave and "substantial improvements" in maternity and paternity leave.