"We can't afford days out": Struggling parents on summer holiday battle in cost of living crisis

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Children's laughter echoes around a Salford church hall as they enjoy a string of free fun-filled activities. Parents enjoy a two-hour break during a six-week school holiday which they say is just 'too long'. “I’m just ready for them to go back, I’m just sick of them arguing and fighting,” said mum-of-two Laura Davies who brings her children to the Play Streets, a project in Salford offering free activities and meals over the summer holidays to children at risk of poverty.

With soaring costs making it harder to afford days out for the family, food and childcare, free projects like these are a godsend for parents in the Clifton area.

Families across the region face a battle to keep their little ones occupied while keeping the costs down. READ MORE:Life on the streets where families are being priced out of childcare Laura, 32, added: “It’s just expensive to take them out and do things." Mum-of-three Kelly Cox took her children to an aquarium and said it "cost a bomb".

She told the Manchester Evening News: "I priced that up for two adults and two children and it was £90 and you’re in there for literally, what, half an hour?”.