The call came as the charity published a report, Britain's Poorest Children, which investigates how poverty affects children and young people. The study highlights how young people living in households earning below 73 a week are five times as likely to be shut out of social activities as those not in poverty.
Madeleine Tearse, European policy and strategy manager at Save the Children, said: "Severely poor children and young people have very bad access to leisure facilities. Youth services don't address this enough because providing leisure activities might be seen as a soft area."
The report draws attention to how under-18s living in severe poverty were much more at risk of mental health problems and bullying at school.
More than half of those in severe poverty felt "useless at times" compared with one-third of young people not in poverty - defined as those in households earning more than 354 a week.
Save the Children's report, conducted by Loughborough University's centre for research in social policy, clarifies a link between severe child poverty and parents who regularly moved on and off benefits.
Mike Aaronson, director-general of Save the Children, said: "These children miss out on material wellbeing, many local services and basic activities that the majority of British parents consider vital to a child's development."
For more information, call 020 7716 2280, or visit www.savethe children.org.uk.
