The outlook for UK families in this time of austerity seems bleak. A recent report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (commissioned by the Family and Parenting Institute) showed that those with children will bear the burden most, with 500,000 families with children under five predicted to be in absolute poverty by 2015. Not only does the situation bode badly for the future; we have seen statistics such as “UK families £7,900 in debt”, and one of the most recent headlines even stated that one in five mums is regularly missing meals so her kids can eat.

This last statistic came from research from Netmums, one of the many sites where mums share experiences and discuss all aspects of family life in an online community. The voice of dads, however, is relatively unheard: How are they coping with the pressures? How are they managing the family finances and wellbeing in these challenging times? As part of our research looking into how austerity measures are affecting those around the country, we went first to spend some time with some dads to uncover their experiences of Austere Britain.

“The fathers are usually the main breadwinners so high expectations and pressures are put on them to bring the money in – to keep everyone happy, whether it’s, roof over heads food on the table and bills to be paid, and all those extra treats that everyone would like.”