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Anything that does not kill me, makes me stronger – NietzscheMUCH HAS been written about how difficult 2009 has been for families in Ireland. The huge rises in unemployment are not just statistics. For every job lost there is an individual and a family who have experienced a huge personal loss and great stress.

Whatever its source, stress is one of the biggest negative impacts on families and on the welfare of children. Parental stress caused by traumatic events and personal loss has the potential to disrupt families and the lives of children in very negative ways. Unemployment and economic misery provides one of the greatest stresses. In a large longitudinal study in the UK, long-term family unemployment was found to be one of the greatest predictors of childhood misery and problems as they grew up. With this in mind it is crucial that we as a society address unemployment and support families who are suffering its effects. While it is important to focus on rebuilding the economy and maintaining and creating employment, it is also important to support families to help themselves.