Seven Five Year-Olds

Lottie [1] is five years old and lives with her parents and older sister in a comfortable family home within easy reach of town. Her parents run their own business and work long hours to sustain it. From the outside, the family appears settled and financially secure. They own their home, their mortgage payments are low, and they are able to plan ahead in ways that many families cannot. For Lottie, daily life feels stable, busy, and full of opportunity.

After tax and mortgage payments, the household’s disposable income is nearly £48,042 a year [i], or around £930 a week. Before these costs, their combined income is around £58,781 [ii]. They are among the higher‑earning households in the UK, though living in Shetland means that money does not stretch as far as the figures suggest. Everyday costs are higher, and running a business brings its own uncertainties. Still, this level of income provides a substantial buffer against rising prices and allows the family to absorb unexpected expenses without destabilising daily life.  As children tend to grow up in households with lower incomes, still over 3,000 households in Shetland earn more than Lottie’s household [iii].  

Lottie benefits from this security in tangible ways. She has access to activities, good‑quality housing, and parents who can invest time and resources in her development. Her world feels predictable and well‑supported. Yet the family’s situation is more complex than income alone suggests. Their comfort is maintained through hard work, long hours, and a careful balancing of responsibilities that extend beyond their immediate household.

A key part of the family’s ability to work full time has been the support of Lottie’s granny. From the end of maternity leave, she provided childcare for both girls, allowing the business to grow and the family’s income to increase. Living close by and no longer needing to work herself, she loved caring for her granddaughters, and the girls, in turn, helped fill a gap after she lost her husband some years ago. Formal wraparound childcare was limited, and without her support, full‑time work would have been far harder to sustain.

Recently, however, this arrangement has changed. Lottie’s great‑grandfather, Lowrie, was born and raised on a croft on one of Shetland’s more remote islands. He lived his life largely self‑sufficiently, combining crofting with part‑time work in the local community. He was never wealthy, but he always had enough.  Until recently, he lived independently with his wife, supported by his state pension and Pension Credit. His costs were higher than those of pensioners in urban parts of the UK, but manageable within his means.  He was able to mitigate the higher costs in the past, cutting peat for his two fires, and gathering drift wood.  He no longer has old fence posts and pallets to burn, having to rely on bought coal.

Following the death of his wife, Lowrie’s health has deteriorated. He has macular degeneration and can no longer drive. His nearest shop and GP are around thirty minutes away by car, and a proper trip to Lerwick takes close to three hours, including ferry and fuel costs. His home is ageing and increasingly difficult to maintain. It is often damp, cold in winter, and expensive to heat. Although he knows improvements could be made, such as additional insulation, he finds the process overwhelming and worries about the cost.

Lowrie receives occasional visits from a social care worker, but his loss of confidence and growing anxiety mean this is not enough. He dislikes leaving his croft and is fearful of hospital stays in Lerwick or on the mainland. Gradually, it has become clear that he cannot manage alone. The only realistic solution was for his daughter, Lottie’s granny, to move back to the island to care for him.

For Lottie’s granny, this has been heartbreaking. She is separated from her children and grandchildren, including Lottie and her sister, and from the community she had rebuilt for herself. She feels isolated, with limited support nearby, and unable to leave her father for long periods. Her world has narrowed, shaped by responsibility and worry.

For Lottie, these changes are subtle but real. She sees her granny far less often, and her parents now shoulder more childcare alongside running their business. Her childhood remains comfortable and opportunity‑rich, but it is shaped by the quiet weight of intergenerational care. Lottie’s story shows that even at the higher end of the income scale, family life can be deeply affected by caring responsibilities that remain largely invisible in financial statistics.