The Good Childhood Report

September 1, 2021

According to the Good Childhood Report, over 300,000 children across the UK are unhappy in their lives.

The key findings included:

An estimated 306,000 10-15 year olds in the UK are unhappy with their lives
Roughly ¼ million children did not cope well with changes during the pandemic
Young people are particularly unhappy about school and appearance.

The review of young people’s wellbeing has found that almost 7 per cent of ten- to-15-year-olds in the UK, the equivalent of 306,000 children, are not happy with their lives, compared to 173,000 children ten years ago.

After the pandemic

Children have been incredibly resilient during the pandemic but mental health has impacted everyone.

An estimated quarter of a million have struggled. Not being able to see their friends and family would’ve taken its toll on their well-being.

Children’s decreasing happiness with aspects of their lives including school, appearance and friends is thought to be contributing to the overall decline, the charity said.

Mark Russell, chief exec of the Children’s Society, said:

‘If we are willing to listen, our young people can tell us so much about the society we live in. Over the years they have told us about the importance of relationships, their hopes and fears for our future, the damage of gender stereotypes, their experiences of Covid-19 and so much more. However, it is not enough to just listen. We must act. This year, as we report on a significant decline in children’s well-being over the last decade, I feel angry.

‘Anger can be dangerous. And so, over the last year The Children’s Society has been working hard to figure out how to channel our collective anger into something positive. We all agree that the hope and optimism of childhood is something worth fighting for. We have set ourselves an audacious goal. By 2030 we are going to overturn the damaging decline we have seen in children’s well-being over the last decade. But we won’t stop there. We are going to make sure the conditions are right for long term growth in the happiness of our young people,’