Research by the charity, based on a YouGov poll of more than 1,000 parents and more than 1,000 children, finds that six per cent of children are sleeping on the floor due to not having a bed of their own in the last 12 months.
Around one in ten children also said they had shared a bed with another member of their family because they didn’t have a bed of their own.
Analysis of the figures by Barnardo’s estimates that there could be around 700,000 children sharing beds and 440,000 children sleeping on the floor because they don't have a bed of their own.
One in 12 parents said their children were “tired all of the time” due to not having their own bed and many children who said they had to share a bed described feeling tired the next day during school lessons, embarrassed, anxious or unhappy.
Barnardo’s frontline workers said the increase in “bed poverty” highlights the impact the cost-of-living crisis is having on struggling families and children.
One said: “I often see families sharing mattresses on the floor with no sheets on or badly soiled duvets. These items come very low on the list of items to purchase when families are struggling to make ends meet, especially since the rise in food bills and heating bills. On some occasions children and mum are all sleeping in one bed.”
The charity is calling on government to use its Autumn Statement commit to renewed investment in the Household Support Fund which is due to run out in March.
Other calls include scrapping the two-child benefits cap and implementing an Essentials Guarantee that would ensure that, at a minimum, universal credit protects people from going without essential items.
Lynn Perry, Barnardo’s chief executive, said: “Bed poverty is just one aspect of child poverty, yet it starkly illustrates the challenges faced by families not having enough money to afford the essentials needed to raise happy and healthy children.
“Families in crisis are having to prioritise essentials such as food, heating and electricity over things like replacing mouldy bedding or fixing a rotten or broken bed. Children are sharing beds and sleeping on the floor, all of which is affecting their development, attendance at school and their mental health.
“The government must take urgent action to address these deep-rooted issues.”
In the 12 months to September, the charity has helped 7,200 families to buy beds, mattresses, duvets, blankets and sheets.
