The government has announced extra funding to help children caught in the middle of family break ups, reports The Guardian.

An extra £60 million will be put into 1500 schools for counselling services and peer mentoring, as well as £5.5 million for local support for couples going through a separation.

With 350,000 children experiencing family break ups and separation it’s hoped the extra money will help provide them with they support they need. The children’s secretary Ed Balls said: “Too often in the past we have focused on supporting adults when they are breaking up but we have not thought enough about the impact on children. We are pioneering a new approach here in thinking about this particular group of vulnerable children.”

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New figures released today show the extent of the increase in demand for housing, debt and couples counselling, reports The Telegraph.

The recent economic climate has seen people struggling holding onto jobs and homes, and the financial burden can put a strain on relationships.

155 local authorities were surveyed, and 93% said there had been an increase in demand for debt counselling, as well as a 69% increase in requests for housing advice and a 17% increase for relationship counselling.

Cllr Margaret Eaton, the chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “These figures demonstrate the effects the credit crunch and the recession are having on families across the country.

“From fears about debt to cash worries putting strains on relationships, people are feeling the pinch.”

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Mothers who drink three or more glasses of alchohol at any one occasion in early pregnancy increase their offspring’s chance of developing alcoholic disorders by 21 years of age, according to a new report.

Drinking during early childhood has been associated with mental and behavioural problems, difficulties in thinking, learning and memory, but few studies have so far researched the link between drinking during pregnancy and a child’s risk for alcohol dependence and other disorders in later life.

Find out more about the new report

In a poll of 353 families in England and Northern Ireland, 60% of families caring for an adult or child with severe learning problems did not get the support needed. An article on BBC News reported that the Charity Mencap is calling for councils to give every family regular short breaks.

“Short breaks can involve people with learning disabilities going into respite care for a short period or carers coming into the person’s home to allow their family to take a break”. Apparently there are approximately 1.5m people with learning disabilities in the UK, though only 251,000 have serious enough conditions to qualify for disability living allowance.

Those on the highest rate of allowance should get a minimum of one break per week according to Mencap. A spokesman for the Local Government Association said, “Mencap is quite right to point out that extra resources must be made available to ensure families can enjoy the breaks they need and deserve.”

“I can’t carry on much longer and I shouldn’t have to”, was a quote from one individual caring for her 18-year-old grandson.

Apparently new research shows that depressed single people receive greater psychological benefits from getting married than those who are not depressed. Adrianne Frech, co-author of the study, states “Our findings question the common assumption that marriage is always a good choice for all individuals”.

Overall, the results suggest that marriage doesn’t have equal benefits for everyone.