As the biting winter weather continues, the cost of living crisis deepens for many households in the UK.

Mother-of-three Claire Williams works full-time and says she earns a good wage but asks why she can’t keep her children warm.

It is a struggle felt by parents across the country.

The 37-year-old, from Runcorn in Cheshire, has now written for Sky News an account of the financial and emotional challenges she faces on a daily basis:

As a mother, the last thing you want is to see your children suffer.

You want to do all you can to keep them safe, warm and well fed. This is becoming increasingly challenging for parents across the UK.

The constant rising cost of food and energy and the lack of wage rise to compensate.

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No mother wants to choose between feeding your kids or paying a bill.

Yet this is where we are, rationing heating for fear of getting a bill we can’t cover.

A freezing home

Our typical working day starts at 6am. This morning it was -9C outside. The struggle to get out of bed in a freezing home is real. I can’t feel my fingers. I argue with myself for a good 20 minutes before forcing myself out of my warm cocoon and into the cold of my bedroom.

I open my curtains and the windows are soaking wet with condensation, the mould forming due to a lack of heat and correct ventilation in my council house. I have to open the window in my already freezing room to prevent more damage.

“Why don’t you just turn the heating on?” I hear you say? Well because I can’t afford to.

The kids are up and getting ready for school, rushing to get in their uniforms to avoid being cold. They head out to school never once complaining. They are good boys. We all look forward to that bit of warmth we get at work or in school.

The kids get home by 4.30pm on average and have already taken it upon themselves to leave the heating off because they know we can’t afford it. So they get into warm PJs and wrap up on the sofa with their blankets until I get home at 5.30pm.

Heating on for just 20 minutes

No child should have to do this. I put the heating on for around 20 minutes to warm the house up and give us all the motivation to clean and cook our dinner. My little dream team. Working together to get everything done.

Washing will have to wait for the weekend, I can’t afford to put the heated maiden on and if it’s left it will go damp in the cold. It’s silly how I have to think now about how I cook, how I clean and do dishes, all affected by the gas and electric usage.

Ensuring all plugs are out and switches off. Don’t use too much water when doing dishes, limit laundry to three loads on a Saturday, prioritise uniforms so the kids have clean clothes for school. Bed sheets will have to wait for now.

It feels like an endless pile of washing that I will never finish. Twenty minutes of heat, radiators warming up, I can feel my toes again. It feels like luxury.

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Monthly energy bills rocket from £80 last year to nearly £300 in 2022

I remember paying £70-80 a month on gas and electric combined this time last year. We had no concerns about when the heating was on, often forgetting to turn it off at night. Now I’m paying close to £300 a month and that’s with rationing our energy.

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Seeing my children cold wrapped up on the sofa makes me feel like I’m failing to provide a basic need. I work full time, earn a good wage, why can’t I keep my kids warm?

Bedtime has arrived again, that routine of getting into bed as fast as possible. Rush the skin care and teeth brushing to cocoon in my fluffy sheets again, terrified of letting my arms or legs out of the covers. It’s too cold for that.

Toss and turn for a few hours knowing we have to get up and into the cold again for work tomorrow.

Roll on summer.

Read more:
Struggling to afford your heating? Here’s what support is available
Analysis: Inflation may have peaked but be prepared for bleak winter ahead
What is the government’s Cold Weather Payment and who will get it?

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