Washington, Nov 14: A new study has revealed that kids as young as the age of 5from poor families become anxious about the effects of poverty.

Led by researchers at the University of York, the study also found that even primary school kids try to hide their fears and anxieties from their parents to ensure that they do not add to the overall stress being experienced by the family.

During the research, it was also found that some kids would give parents their own birthday money or piggy bank savings to help with household expenses.

And some would intentionally keep school trips secret so that parents would not have to worry whether they could be afforded.

Therefore, the study showed that the kids were distressed and frustrated that poverty prevented them enjoying the same activities as some of their peers.

However, it showed that a far bigger source of anxiety was the awareness that their parents were stressed by poverty.

A 10-year-old boy has revealed how he would check that his mother was still safely in bed at night.

“It makes me feel unhappy inside because if she’s stressed then there’s nothing that I can do about it, ” Timesonline quoted him, as saying.

Carol-Ann Hooper, senior lecturer in social policy at University of York and co-author of the report, Living with Hardship 24/7, published by the Frank Buttle Trust, said that hardship affected all dimensions of children’s well being.

“For many of the families in this study, poverty meant going without basics such as a cooked meal each day for adults or toys for children, ” she said. (ANI)