Families with disabled kids forced to spend £111 a month more on food, study finds

PARENTS with disabled or seriously ill children constantly worry their kids will always be at a disadvantage, a new report has found.

It's one of the biggest fears for parents, as well as higher food and energy bills, and concerns about the lack of interaction their kids have with other little ones.

A study by McCain and charity Family Fund found that parents with disabled kids also have to spend £111 more a month on food than those with non-disabled children.

Researchers polled 1,000 parents of four to 11-year-olds who aren’t disabled and 1,000 parents with at least one child who is disabled.

They found that parents without disabled or seriously ill children spend £239 a month on food for their family – compared to £350 for those with disabled children.

A further £181 is spent on energy bills for a household without disabled children, while their cost increases to £212.

The researchers also found that three in 10 parents with a disabled child never feel able to invite friends around for meals, compared to other parents who do this once a month.

Dining out can also be a challenge, with families from non-disabled children dining out twice a month, compared to families with disabled children who said they dined out just once.

While dining out is difficult, the experts also found half of parents raising disabled children want to eat more meals together as a family as they believe it helps communication, with almost two thirds considering mealtimes together as ‘important’.

While 43 per cent of parents with disabled or seriously ill children find it ‘very difficult’ to get their youngster to eat a variety of foods.