Reading on the economic crisis impact on children’s daily life in Catalonia

Abstract

The financial and economic crisis in countries of Southern Europe affects the daily lives of children and young people in Catalonia. Using a qualitative methodology, this paper focus on how this issue is treated by specialized reports and the press. This first approach is complemented with interviews to experts, from the field of education, on their perception of the phenomenon. More and more families live situations of poverty and vulnerability. Schools and after school activities experiment significant changes and try to adapt to them. Moreover, parents are taking children to school more often and housework and family care are readjusted among family members. Accordingly, in a context of fewer resources for social care organizations, the demand increases and become more diversified. The impact of the crisis on children’s daily lives varies in different locations. This article aims to analyse the social and spatial differences taking into account the gender perspective.

Keywords: children, youth, gender, crisis, everyday life.