Blog Post 4: News Review

Children and Happiness: 

UK Children At Their Lowest Levels of Happiness In A Decade

Children's innocence and the happiness that they are able to create within their own world can be said to be envied by most adults who experience reality every single day. We can acknowledge the fact that real happiness can be found when we are kids (of course not every child can be happy due to the reality and experience they are born into) because we have no understanding of the outside world. When we are children, we create our little world full of happiness and wonder and we live in that little bubble with ourselves and with the friends that we make until we grow up and really hits that everything left behind is nothing more than happy memories and dreams we made up as children. We try to hold onto them as much as possible, not because we were children but we try to remember what happiness felt like as a child, contrarily to the happiness we feel as adults. 

Children's happiness in the UK is at its lowest point in a decade - with crime and the environment among their key concerns, according to a new report.

The Independent published an article the clearly shows the decrease in happiness in children in the UK is at its lowest in a decade. According to figures from the Children's Society charity 

nearly a quarter of a million children in the UK – the equivalent of 219,000 – report being unhappy with their lives as a whole.

According to the Children's Society annual report, INCREASEd BULLYING, FEELING UNSAFE AT SCHOOL, and EXCESSIVE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA are some of the potential driving factors behind the drop.

The significant decline is a “national scandal”

One in eight children are unhappy with school - which is at its lowest level since 2009 - and Year 10 students suggest bullying and not feeling safe at school are some of the reasons for low wellbeing. 

Poverty, financial strain, and unhappiness with school life are found linked according to the study. Moreover, physical appearance has been growing and the gap between girls and boys is narrowing. Usually, boys are happier with their appearance than girls but times have changed and both circles are growing. The report suggests that part of the rise is due to social media 

Mark Russell, chief executive at the Children’s Society, said: “Modern childhood is a happy and carefree time for most, yet for too many it is not. It is a national scandal that children’s unhappiness is increasing so quickly. Today’s young people are becoming progressively unhappy with their friendships – one of the fundamental building blocks of wellbeing – as well as appearance and school. “Children are also burdened with fears ranging from worrying about the future, not having enough money to not feeling safe at school and bullying. Many young people tell us they feel sidelined and ignored by those in power.”

The world we live in today is drastically changing day by day and this is not only affecting adults but also children. There needs to be a change otherwise, we are going to drown in an ocean filled with unhappy children and that is going to be our future generation.

The article mentioned the problems but did not give any detailed information about what can be done apart from the following. 

Children will be taught how to build mental resilience – as well as how to recognise when their peers are struggling with mental health issues – as part of statutory lessons, the government announced.

If you would like to read the original article, please find the URL link below:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/child-happiness-crime-environment-school-bullying-social-media-a9080721.html