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Britain's kids lose out say Unicef
Is Britain’s child well-being shame a reason to emigrate? The newly released Unicef report provides UK parents with a concrete reason to consider emigrating, writes Hanna Lindon
Of the 21 industrialised countries reviewed by the report, Britain came bottom in an assessment of child well-being.
The Unicef report is divided into six categories: material well-being, family and peer relationships, health and safety, behaviour and risks, and children's own sense of well-being. The UK was in the bottom third of the rankings for five of the six categories covered.
Of the industrialised English-speaking countries most commonly considered by Brits for emigration (Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the US), Canada and Australia are reportedly best for child well-being.
These two countries came top of the Unicef 'educational well-being' category, while the UK was once again in the bottom third. Children in Australia also headed the category of 'subjective well-being', with over a third of their schoolchildren admitting to 'liking school a lot'.
These results emphasising Australia's excellent child well-being record won't surprise Dave Montoya, who emigrated Down Under with his family in 2005. "All our kids love school – yes, that's right, love it," Dave told Emigrate Australia. "The teachers are excellent and the quality of teaching has been superb."
Richard Wood, now living in Calgary, Canada, has experienced a similar success story with his son, Owen, as he told Emigrate magazine recently. "Owen was bullied in the UK, but is thriving at school in Canada," he says. "There's more room for personal development and the kids here don't have to wear a school uniform – Owen absolutely loves it!"
Canada and the US also topped the 'behaviour and risks' category of the Unicef report, with their youths admitting to exercising most. No prizes for guessing which country came at the bottom of this category.
So, the message of the Unicef report is clear: If child well-being is one of your top priorities, consider emigrating!
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Hanna Lindon 14 February 2007