Young voices on life and the future
Our annual Good Childhood Report looks at what children and young people think about how their lives are going each year. This year’s report revealed that too many UK young people are unhappy with their lives. In fact, the UK had the highest proportion of 15-year-olds with low life satisfaction across Europe, with a quarter of UK 15-year-olds having low life satisfaction. We spoke to some young people about their feelings towards the issues we explored in the report. Here’s what they had to say.
Online appearance
Online appearance
Once again, young people’s feeling towards their appearance are alarming. Almost one in six children were unhappy with their appearance, and girls were on average significantly less happy with their appearance than boys (based on the latest Understanding Society dataset, 2021/22, 10- to 15-year-olds). In our discussions, young people felt that the internet had a large part to play in these negative feelings. One teenager told us “I think a lot of the time teenagers struggle with their body image and how society thinks they should look, and that can really bring them down, especially with bullying and friendships and people.”
Online appearance
I feel like the internet has made that so much worse. With editing apps getting better, it creates really unrealistic standards.
“The internet is just a toxic place nowadays. A lot of people are trying to get into the gym. They use padding in leggings and things to make the appearance of bigger bums. It’s all fake, isn't it?”
“I also think that appearance can affect relationships. If you're looking for a type of person to meet as friends, or as more than friends you feel like you have to fit a certain standard and some people won't acknowledge you or look at you if you don't look a certain way. It makes you feel like you have to change yourselves.”
Everyone's unique in their own way and they shouldn't want to change how they are just to please others.
Family comes first
Family comes first
This year’s Good Childhood Report found that on average, children were most happy with their family, out of 10 areas of life we asked them about (results from The Children’s Society’s annual survey 2024, 10- to 17-year-olds). Comparisons across 27 European countries also found that family support was an area where the UK performed well compared to other countries across Europe (based on results from the PISA survey, 2022, 15-year-olds).
“I care a lot about my family. So family is like the number one priority for me. But for every young person, it's completely different.” said one young person we spoke to.
Family comes first
Another reflected “I’ve been working since I was 14. All my money has gone to my family so we can eat, we can be warm so that our house isn’t falling apart. I worked so much to support my family and have money for myself.”
The Good Childhood Report
Want to know how children are feeling? This year’s Good Childhood Report reveals that too many young people are unhappy with their lives. And shockingly, in 2022 the UK’s 15-year-olds had the lowest average life satisfaction in Europe.
Cost of living
Cost of living
Our report showed that young people were concerned about rising prices. Two in five children and young people were very or quite worried about this (The Children’s Society’s annual survey 2024, 10- to 17-year-olds). Over half of their parents and carers told us they had struggled to afford a holiday, and over two in five reported struggling to afford activities outside of school and celebrations on special occasions. One young person we spoke to told us about the shame they felt in class when some families could afford things that others couldn’t.
“When I did history there was a Berlin trip, and that was over a £1K for three days. The pupils that could afford it gained experience. They went to lectures, we weren't able to go to it because we couldn't afford it.”
"It was called out in class. I remember saying that it's too expensive. They said it was paid over instalments. But that doesn’t matter. It is still too expensive.
There's families out there that every penny they earn goes towards bills and food. They have no spare money. There's families out there that every penny they earn goes towards bills and food. They have no spare money.
A national roadmap to a good childhood
Once again, this year’s Good Childhood Report highlights stark concerns about the wellbeing of UK children. The ongoing impacts of high living costs cannot be ignored. Children and their families urgently need our Government to do more to support them.
This cannot continue. Too many young people are struggling. The Government must act now and set a path to a brighter future. The Children’s Society’s national roadmap to a good childhood sets out the steps needed to make sure children and young people can access the support systems, policies, and services they need to thrive.
Author: Edward Herbert
