Por Redaccion 
One in four households with children under 16 years old (24 percent) could not afford to go on vacation outside of their home for at least one week in 2024, a decrease of 9.5 percentage points compared to ten years ago (33.5 percent in 2014), according to the Living Conditions Survey published this Wednesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
In the case of Castilla y León, this percentage stands at 20.3 percent.
Other data from the INE indicates that in 7.8 percent of households in Castilla y León with children under 16 years old, these children could not have new clothes in 2024, compared to 4.5 percent in Spain, which represents a decrease of two points compared to 2014 (6.5%). However, in families with lower incomes and those formed by a single adult with children, the percentage rose to 10.6 percent.
Additionally, in Castilla y León, 1.8 percent of households do not have two pairs of suitable shoes for children, 1.1 percent do not eat fresh fruit and vegetables at least once a day, 2.0 percent do not have at least one meal of meat, chicken, or fish a day, 6.9 percent do not have outdoor leisure equipment, 7.4 percent do not regularly engage in leisure activities, and 5.1 percent cannot celebrate special occasions.
Finally, 7.2 percent of households in Castilla y León cannot participate in school trips or events.
On the other hand, the survey also reveals that 2.3 percent of Spanish households with children under 16 years old claim they did not receive medical assistance for their children when needed in 2024, an increase of 2.1 percentage points compared to 2017 (when it was 0.2 percent).
Furthermore, this percentage rises to 2.7% in households with children where the reference person was a non-EU foreigner and drops to 1.8% in households with higher incomes.
The study also shows that 4% of households with children under 16 did not receive dental care, 1.4 percentage points higher than in 2017 (2.6%). According to the INE, nationality «greatly affected» access to dental care in households with children.
Therefore, in 2024, 6.2% of households with a non-EU foreign reference person did not receive necessary dental care, compared to 3.6% of households with a Spanish reference person.
The same pattern was observed based on income levels. Thus, 6.7% of households with lower incomes did not receive necessary dental care, compared to 1.5% of households with higher incomes.
2.2% COULD NOT EAT FRUIT OR VEGETABLES DAILY
On the other hand, the survey also reveals that 2.2% of households with children could not afford to eat fruit or vegetables daily in 2024, doubling in households with low incomes (4.6%).
Meanwhile, 2.4% could not have at least one meal of meat or fish a day, a percentage that increases to 6.7% in households where the reference person was a foreigner from outside the EU.
Additionally, according to INE data, in 4.5% of households in Spain with children under 16, these children could not have new clothes in 2024, a decrease of two points compared to 2014 (6.5%), although in families with lower incomes and those formed by a single adult with children, the percentage rose to 10.6%.
In the educational field, the study reflects that 6.4% of households with children could not afford for the children to participate in school trips in 2024; double (13.4%) in families with lower incomes.
Likewise, 1.2% did not have age-appropriate books in 2024 and 2.3% did not have a suitable place for children to study or do homework.
Regarding care, the Living Conditions Survey reveals that 54.5% of children under 3 years old attended childcare centers in 2024, 15 points higher than in 2016 (39.5%), and in 39.2% of cases, they did not have to pay for the care, compared to 19.8% in 2016.
By income level, the study shows that in the last eight years, the percentage of lower-income families not paying for childcare for children under 3 has decreased by four points, while it has increased by 15.9 points for higher-income families not paying for this service.
Specifically, 59.6% of low-income families did not pay for childcare centers for their children under 3 in 2024 (compared to 63.6% in 2016), and among higher-income families, 28.5% did not pay (compared to 12.6% in 2016).