The Good Childhood Report

Download the full report at the top, or download the summary reports here: 

• Good Childhood Report 2023 

• Good Childhood Report 2023 Summary and recommendations 

• Good Childhood Report 2023 Youth Summary 

• Almost a third of the children aged 10 to 17 who completed our annual survey this year were unhappy with at least one of the ten specific areas of their lives that we ask about.  

• The majority (74%) of children who completed our annual survey felt positive about their own futures, but less than four in ten felt positive about the future of the country and the world. 

• More children (aged 10 to 17) who completed our annual survey were unhappy with school (14.5%), a larger proportion than for the other nine aspects of life included in the Good Childhood Index. 

• Children aged 10 to 17 who completed our annual survey who worried about how much money their family had were more likely to be unhappy than those without financial worries with all the different aspects of life that they were asked about, and particularly with their home, money and things they own, and the amount of choice they have. 

• When asked about a list of seven issues relevant for the future, having enough money was the item that more children and young people worried about, followed by finding a job and getting good grades at school.  

• When asked about a set of nine societal issues, rising prices was the top worry among children completing the survey this year, followed by the environment. 

The current generation of children and young people is growing up at a time of unprecedented turbulence and uncertainty.  As society tries to recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been numerous crises in the UK and internationally, notably steep increases to the cost of living, and the climate emergency remains a concern for many young people. 

Analysis from Understanding Society data presented in this year's report shows children (aged 10 to 15)’s average happiness scores with their life as a whole, their friends, appearance, school, and schoolwork were all significantly lower in 2020-21, the latest data available, than when the Understanding Society survey began in 2009-10. Family was the only aspect of life for which children’s average happiness scores remained relatively stable.  

On average, children aged 10 to 15 who took part in the Understanding Society survey were most happy with their family and least happy with their appearance. 

The latest data seem to paint a worrying picture for girls, with their average happiness scores for each of the six measures significantly lower in 2020-21 than when the Understanding Society survey first started in 2009-10. Also, on average girls were still significantly less happy with their appearance than boys, which has been the case since the survey started.  

Children’s wellbeing is linked to their hopes and worries about the future. As society continues to face turbulence and uncertainty both in the UK and internationally, we asked children and young people aged 10 to 17 how they felt about this in our annual survey. 

Having enough money, finding a job and getting good grades at school were their top worries from a list of seven issues relevant to their future. A higher proportion of children who thought their family was not well off or who had low wellbeing, were worried about all seven aspects relevant for their future that they were asked about. 

On a brighter note, nearly three quarters of children and young people (74%) felt positive about their own future. However, this positivity did not extend to the future of the country and the world: less than four in 10 children and young people felt positive about the future of the country (38%) or the future of the world (36%). 

Time and time again, when we ask children what needs to change to improve their lives, they tell us simply that they want to feel supported and listened to. This is not too much to ask. Children and young people need a cohesive, responsive, and compassionate system of support around them which aims to prevent their wellbeing from declining, alongside a co-designed and fully funded national strategy for a good childhood. Our priority recommendations are: 

1. Protecting children from the rising cost of living by renewing investment in social security for children through an increase to child benefits. As a minimum, the Government should target increases for the families facing the brunt of price rises by uplifting the child element of Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit and removing the two-child limit. 

2. Standing up for children to build hope and security for their futures by creating Cabinet level posts of Minister for Children in both the UK and Welsh governments to share children’s views at the highest level of political decision making and champion children’s needs across all government departments. 

3. Creating a system that starts with prevention by understanding how children are doing.  The Government should measure children’s subjective wellbeing at least annually and on a much larger national scale across England and Wales. 

4. Taking responsibility for girls’ unhappiness by commissioning research without further delay. The Government needs to understand why young people, and especially girls, are more unhappy with their appearance, so that effective action can be taken. 

5. Enabling schools to support pupils’ wellbeing by expanding mental health support teams (MHSTs) to all schools with long-term funding. DHSC and DfE must make sure that no child in England goes without mental health and wellbeing support at school. 

6. Responding to the needs of parents, carers, and families by working with the voluntary and community sector. DHSC should pilot innovative parent and carer mental health and wellbeing support offers. These could work in partnership with MHSTs and family hubs, once available in all areas. 

No child should suffer without support. Every child deserves a good childhood with access to the help they need.  

There is going to be a brighter future at the end of it hopefully.

We protect and listen to young people in their most crucial stages of development. Our mental health drop-in centres across the country are there for young people when they need to talk about their problems. We keep them safe from abuse, neglect and exploitation.