SKI/OSLO (Dagbladet): – In January we booked a trip to Kristiansand, but we have to cancel that trip now. We can not afford it.
The lush forest areas surround the condominium in Ski. The summer holidays are in earnest, and the July silence is almost palpable.
Too many families have gone on holiday. But for others, using the holiday money on holiday is not an option.
Marthe Arnesen (40) is the sole breadwinner for her seven-year-old daughter. Even if she works 100 percent in a permanent job and the finances are sufficient, they have to make hard priorities.
With high inflation, interest rate jumps and the low krone exchange rate, several families have chosen to cancel this year’s trip abroad. But for many single parents, the finances are not enough to go on holiday in Norway either.
Strongest in 40 years
Worst after the holidays
– My daughter has got a season ticket for Tusenfryd, because it is in the area. We ordered it around Christmas time when they had good deals. We take the bus there, and bring our own packed lunch. It is far too expensive to buy food inside the amusement park, says Arnesen.
The plans for the summer holiday have changed for Arnesen and his daughter after interest rates have increased.
She does not own a car, so now she is concerned with creating experiences for her daughter in the local area.
Will stop and control tourists
– We can swim, fish and go camping. My daughter loves insects, so we bought a second-hand microscope that she can use to look at small insects, she says and adds:
– I’m keen to find great joy in small things, it’s just a matter of how we look at it. That you don’t have to travel far to create good memories and have a nice childhood. It is also more environmentally friendly. I think it is generally good that society slows down the pace, expectations and materialism, and focuses more on the immediate, such as local nature and local experiences.
THE NEARBY AREA: Marthe Arnesen is keen to create experiences for her daughter in the local area of the municipality. Photo: Nina Hansen/ Dagbladet Show more
Arnesen’s daughter is still at an age where she doesn’t care as much about what everyone else is doing during the summer holidays, but according to Arnesen, the challenges come when the children are back at school.
– It can be extra striking that teachers and other children arrange for you to talk about where you have been during the summer. Then there is always someone who has been to the South or Thailand, she says.
Arnesen thinks that it might be an idea for teachers to start asking what experiences they have had, rather than where they have been.
Through her involvement as a local politician in the municipality, she says that she regularly talks to several children and young people.
What they tell worries her about societal developments.
– Some of them say that they are considering being home from school the first week after the summer holidays, because they cannot bear to say that they have only been at home all summer. Then I think that there must be a change of attitude in society, she says.
Single mother with five children
Valid throughout the year
According to Statistics Norway there are currently around 108,000 single parents in Norway, who are either divorced or single parents for their children.
In the revised state budget for 2023, the government chose to increase child benefit for everyone. But because the government chose from 1 March to remove the special deduction, which applies to single parents who receive extended child benefit, Arnesen loses out on the new scheme.
– There are people who have it worse than us, and I don’t come off the worst. But when interest rates are sky high and the price of food increases, I can’t afford to pay unforeseen costs, she says and adds:
– And that doesn’t just apply during the summer holidays, but all year round. Society is designed to be two adults.
HIGH INTEREST: High interest and inflation mean that Marthe Arnesen cannot afford to pay unforeseen costs. Photo: Nina Hansen/Dagbladet Show more
Cathrine Austrheim, head of the Single Parents’ Association, also agrees that single parents are not well prepared for inflation and interest rate increases. She says that the association is contacted by parents who have to use the holiday money to pay off electricity bills.
– Four out of ten single parents do not own their own home. But neither those who own their own home, nor those who pay more expensive rent, can withstand the rise in interest rates. There are many who are really in despair, she says to Dagbladet.
Austrheim believes that the differences are reinforced when child benefit increases for everyone.
– Parents with good advice put the child benefit into their books, while others have to use the money to buy bread. This means that some parents can already save for housing for their children at an early age, she says.
The Norwegian holiday will not take place
That lone parents began to receive poorer advice was something the Aleneparenterforeningen already sounded the alarm in spring 2022, says Austrheim.
– Then we noticed the changes with the fact that even single parents in 100 per cent work have received worse advice. The buffer accounts are empty, and all they think about is being able to put food on the table and pay the necessary bills, she says.
According to Austrheim, it is the children who lose from this. In her view, not many single parents normally go on holiday abroad. But now there are many single parents who state that they cannot afford to holiday in Norway either.
– When I read some of the stories we receive, I cry. For many, it is the psychological strain that is the worst. Being constantly worried and never being able to fully breathe. You never know what will happen around the next bend, she says and adds:
– It will also be a psychological strain on the children. Many single parents find that their children stop asking for things, because they know they cannot afford it. Some also lie about holidays and trips abroad to the other children. There is a great shame associated with this.
– Provocative
Package offer for families
Linn Nilsen from Øygarden outside Bergen, is a full-time single parent to her 12-year-old son, who has both autism and Tourette’s syndrome.
She is disabled, and the high prices have made it more difficult for her to take her son on holiday.
– Usually we have always gone on holiday to the Netherlands, where he has a half-brother. He is affected by not being able to travel to his brother, and for him it is in a way a fixed summer routine. I have to spend a lot of time and preferably extra money to organize holidays, she says and adds:
– I have to firmly say no to things he wants that cost money, whether they are activities or things he wants. Because I have to prioritize paying bills and putting food on the table.
Nilsen has always been honest with his son that they do not have good advice.
MUST PRIORITIZE: Linn Nilsen says that she cannot afford to take her son on holiday this summer. Photo: Private Show more
– He is used to us not being able to afford a holiday, so he is not as affected. He would like to go on holiday, but knows we can’t afford it, but I am left with a guilty conscience.
Her son has a support contact who takes him to several activities in the municipality. In the last year, Nilsen has noticed that it has become more expensive to pay for his son’s activities.
– We do very little during the summer. We play yatzy and watch movies and make the best of it. He does not expect to go on vacation, and does not demand to go to amusement parks.
Nilsen responds that there are often offers for families on both holiday trips and activities in Norway, such as amusement parks.
– There are often package offers for two adults and two children. But no offer for one adult and one or more children, she says.
Warns Norwegians: Expect a double whammy
– Tight finances going forward
Thea Olsen, consumer economist at Danske Bank, says that there is no doubt that those with lower incomes or single parents are severely affected by the high inflation and increased interest costs.
– During the holidays, the exchange rate will also hit this group extra hard for those of them who will be traveling abroad, she says to Dagbladet.
– How will the economic situation look in the future?
– It is very uncertain, but if Norges Bank’s interest rate path is to be believed, we have not reached the interest rate peak yet. There is also a lot of uncertainty about inflation, but there is no doubt that it will be tight financially going forward, says Olsen.
A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY: Consumer economist Thea Olsen says that interest rates and prices will increase in the future. Photo: Danske Bank / Sturlason Show more
The consumer economist believes that it can be good to be open about the financial situation with the children.
– You should also dare to talk about the financial challenges with the children. Depending on their age, children understand more than you think, she says.
Olsen points out that many parents have to remind themselves that most children appreciate spending time with their family during the holidays.
And like Marthe Arnesen, the consumer economist believes that families can use the local area and that there are plenty of activities to find at home.
– You can swim, fish and fish for crabs, or go on trips with games and fun on the trip. For the older children, you can, for example, set up a puzzle race. It is only the imagination that sets the limits, she says.
At the same time, Olsen believes that parents must remember to set aside time for themselves with a clear conscience.
– It is perhaps easier said than done for single parents. But I think children respect it to a greater extent if you have also had quality time with them, she says.
2023-07-08 10:42:23
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