Related articles

• New research by Ipsos MORI for UNICEF UK has shown that children in the UK feel trapped in a ‘materialistic culture’ and don’t spend enough time with their families.
  
  Following on from their 2007 UNICEF report that compared child wellbeing in developed nations, the results of which ranked child wellbeing in the UK as lowest, UNICEF’s latest report investigated the factors that affect child wellbeing. It analysed 250 children’s experiences and compared families in Britain and families in Sweden and Spain, where child wellbeing was ranked more highly in 2007. It found that children in all three countries believed their happiness was greatly influenced by the amount of time they spent with their families and took part in activities, particularly outdoors, rather than whether they owned certain clothes or gadgets.
  
  Yet British parents told researchers that they felt under pressure from society to purchase material goods for their families. Parents in low-income homes prevalently expressed such concerns, emphasising the relationship between British consumer culture, perceptions of status and social inequality. In addition, although parents in the UK said that they were committed to their children, they felt as if they lost out on time spent with their family because of work pressures, then tried to make up for this by purchasing gadgets and clothes for their children. In contrast, Spanish and Swedish parents said that they felt under less pressure to buy material goods, placed a greater priority on protecting time spent with their families, and provided greater access to activities outside of the home for their children.
  
  ‘Right now politicians are grappling with the aftermath of the riots and what they say about our society, culture and families,’ said UNICEF UK Executive Director, David Bull. ‘The research findings provide important insights, and it is vital that those in power listen to what children and their families are saying about life in the UK.’
  
  To improve child wellbeing in the UK, UNICEF is recommending that the Government encourages businesses to provide a living wage so that parents don’t have to take on several jobs to support their living costs and can spend more time with their families. UNICEF also advises that the Government asks local authorities to assess the effects of public spending cuts, protects funding for facilities and leisure activities for children, and supports a ban on advertisements promoting material goods during television programmes aimed at under-12s.
  
  The UNICEF report in full can be read at http://www.unicef.org.uk/documents/publications/ipsos_unicef_childwellbeingreport.pdf.

• UNICEF