I feel constantly guilty that I can’t afford to take my kids on holiday - I’m worried they’re missing out

A STAY-at-home mum says she feels “constantly guilty” that she can’t afford to take her three kids on holiday and is “worried that they’re missing out”.

Stacey Buttle, 37, lives in Tuckswood, Norwich, with husband Wayne, 40, and their children – Riley, 11, Kory, eight, and five-year-old Kayla.

Money has always been tight, but as well as struggling with spiralling bills and the recent cost of living crisis, Wayne lost his shop manager job in 2019 and has been unable to work since, after daughter Kayla was diagnosed with high-risk stage four Neuroblastoma in 2021.

The family now rely on Universal Credit.

Stacey told Fabulous: “We have always lived close to the breadline and had to carefully budget, but we were able to get by – it just meant holidays were out of the question.

“The kids haven’t been abroad and we’ve only had one proper family holiday together, a trip to Butlins in Skegness in 2019, which my grandparents paid for.

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Stacey also has to cover most of the additional travel costs – up to £75 a week in petrol – needed to get Kayla to hospital – an issue charities including Young Lives vs Cancer are campaigning for more support around.

Stacey says: “Sometimes we wonder if we’ll have to go without dinner or have a tin of beans so that the kids can have a proper meal. I’m constantly thinking about where we can cut back.”

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Thanks to charity support, the family have been able to go on paid-for small day trips and a trip to Center Parcs recently – but only because Kayla is so unwell.

Stacey adds: “I don’t want to be in this situation, living every day on a knife edge. The kids shouldn’t have to go without, but a lot of things at the moment are just out of our control.”

Stacey isn’t alone in her struggles.

On Saturday, Fabulous shared Gemma Smith's story of how she lost five stone in just three months when she was forced to skip meals to feed her children.

Their stories come after an exclusive poll, commissioned by The Sun’s Fabulous brand as part of our Baby, Bank On Us campaign, found that more than two fifths (43 per cent) of mums have missed meals so their kids can eat more over the summer.

And, shockingly, nearly a quarter (23 per cent) have had to stop buying basic hygiene products, including shampoo, shower gel and toothpaste, so their children don’t go without.

Our poll of 2,000 British mothers reveals they are resorting to desperate measures to make ends meet.

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