When I looked this week at the UNICEF report on child well-being I was reminded of why I'd first decided to call this blog 'Bedtimes and Deadlines'. If you've never heard me explain, it was so named as an acknowledgement of the problems I've had since 2001 in making time for study, children, work and relationships.
When I was trying to finish off my teaching qualification this year EVERYBODY in our house suffered. I was grumpy, unreasonable and tired. More than once as an apology for being unable to play with my boys I'd get them something from Amazon rather than find the time to just sit down and play.
The new UNICEF report is a follow up study to their 2007 offering which placed children in the UK at the bottom of a 'well being scale'. The 2007 sample concentrated on developed countries. The new report compares the well being of children from Sweden, Spain and the UK. It's qualitative with a sample size of 250 children aged between 8 and 13. The issues discussed centre on materialism, the working week, social inequality and factors arising from parenting styles.
As always with research, it is crucial to be critical. Never accept any findings at face value. That said, I do think that the report is worth half an hour of your time today.
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What a great UNICEF report which will hopefully show parents that material goods aren't everything as long as the have attention and all the essential things like beds and food kids are happy and can make their own entertainment
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