Interesting article in The Guardian which highlights the unhappiness of British children in comparison to their counterparts elsewhere in the world.
The 2007 UNICEF report which put Britain bottom of the 21 industrial nations surveyed when it came to the emotional well being of their young people emphasised the love that children have elsewhere of outdoor play and a sense of family life. A more recent study last year showed that, despite that, our parents – particularly those from less well off families felt the need to ply them with consumer goods rather than taking them to the park.
Sadie from iLocalsearch.net asked me for my opinion on Google Plus – since I am both a parent and a lollipop lady at a local primary school.
I have to say that the kids at my school are all very happy to be going there. Very rarely do I see tears at the gate. If anything, I would remark upon the fact that many of the children turn up early so they can congregate with their chums in the playground before going in.
Personally, I do see a lot of young children with technological devices which are far too expensive to be taken to school… and totally unnecessary. An infant school child should not need an iPod on a 10 minute drive to school when s/he could be chatting with that parent and s/he certainly should not need it in school. You also don’t need the latest model of the iPhone when you are 9… unless you want to get mugged.
Having said that, I also see a lot of children going off to the park after school with mum or dad. And also a lot of new play equipment going into school as a result of the efforts of our fabulous Parents Association. Again, there is always a flurry of activity after school as the children make use of this whilst awaiting the arrival of older brothers and sisters.
But I do think that there are questions to answer here – and by a variety of
