I’d rather read a critique from a non-friendly source and see the worst it can throw, rather than read one from an ally, excusing himself and softening the message the closer it got to home. Thus it is here.The United Nations Children's Fund ranked Britain and the US among the bottom third in the study which looked at overall well-being, health and safety, education, relationships, risk and their own sense of well-being. Child well-being was rated highest in northern Europe, with the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark leading the list.
Britain lived up to its reputation for "binge-drinking," hazardous sexual activity and drug use, with the report putting the country at the bottom of the rankings for risk behaviours "by a considerable distance". Almost a third of British youngsters aged 11, 13 and 15 reported being drunk on two or more occasions.
Britain and the US were also found to have the worst rankings in terms of children's relationships with their families and peers. Unicef noted the sensitivity of this field, but said "at the statistical level, there is evidence to associate growing up in single-parent families and stepfamilies with greater risk to well-being."
The report highlighted how the Czech Republic had a higher ranking than many richer countries, including France, Austria, the United States and Britain.
The good news is that Britain had made progress in the field of child safety, having cut the incidence of deaths from accidents and injuries to the "remarkably low level" of fewer than 10 per 10,000.
Despite the clear political point scoring in the article, nevertheless, it has implications and is a clear indictment of how children are being treated. Parents, as always, will blame the education system, quite rightly so but take none of the blame upon themselves.
A disturbing report, but I don't suppose parents believe they are doing anything wrong. Our culture today is more self-centred, I would like to see our young people encouraged to be more giving to others, I think they should all do community voluntary work. Where are the role modesl today? Our kids spend far too long on computer games and watching TV - more means less in terms of today's consumerism.
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day, btw. Is it being celebrated in the Russian Fed?
I was brought up through the Thatcher/Major/Blair years, so I'm not surprised. After 79, emphasis shifted from education, employment, health, well-being to individual prosperity, and we're seeing payback. Thanks for your post. I'm at www.tonyblairthewildernessyears.co.uk/wordpress.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, you are probably too young to remember but the first major cuts in public spending-in health and social security- actually began during the Labour administration of Jim Callaghan as the economy nose dived.
ReplyDeleteOur children are unhappier than previous generations and (thanks to house prices and the costs of higher education or vocational training- both of which were once free) they will also be poorer and more debt-ridden as well.