Family finances are at breaking point with 2.3 million parents unable to afford any activities for their children during the upcoming summer holidays, reveals research from responsible lender Creditspring*.

One in seven (15%) parents say their finances won’t stretch to cover any summer activities this year whilst almost one in five (17%) admit they are more worried about their finances during the upcoming school holidays than ever before. This rises to over a fifth (21%) of single parents.

More than one in ten (13%) parents plan to take time off work to look after their children over the summer holidays as they won’t be able to afford holiday clubs or other activities. The same proportion say they will need to rely on family and friends to look after their children as they will be unable to afford childcare costs over the summer.

According to children’s charity Coram, the average cost of weekly childcare during school holidays was £157 during 2023 – over double the average of £67 per week for term-time after-school clubs.

These financial pressures have also led millions of parents to scrap holiday plans this year. One in seven (13%) parents said they would be unable to go on holiday this year due to their financial situation. This is even leading to 12% of parents admitting they will be taking their child out of school to go on holiday during term time to reduce costs and miss the summer peak.

Neil Kadagathur, CEO at responsible lender Creditspring comments: “Millions of children are set to lose out this summer as household finances surpass breaking point. Parents who have been struggling to juggle everyday financial pressures now find themselves in the impossible position of facing a new wave of costs with expensive childcare, activity clubs and holidays all needing to be paid for out of an empty pot.

“During this hugely expensive period, many parents will be forced to turn to credit to make ends meet - however, the lack of access to responsible, short-term credit options risks driving many into the predatory arms of expensive lenders or even loan sharks which will end up forcing parents into debt spirals. It’s vital that parents have access to more affordable credit options that don’t put their long-term financial security at risk.”

Creditspring provides a new way to access credit safely. FCA-regulated, it is a credit subscription service that responsibly offers short-term, affordable credit to borrowers. Members pay a fixed membership fee every month to allow them to access two no-interest loans per year with clear repayment terms, capped costs and no hidden charges, late fees or confusing interest rates.

* Based on calculation using ONS population statistics of UK adults (18+) and Opinium research.