One in 10 children aged 10 to 17 report having low wellbeing with the cost-of-living crisis weighing most heavily on their minds, finds the charity’s Good Childhood report for 2024.
It states that 11% of children who completed an annual survey on which the report is based ranked their wellbeing as “low”.
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Children and young people were asked to rank how they felt about nine broad societal issues including living costs, crime, the environment, online safety and inequality.
Two in five children and young people said they were “very” or “quite” worried about rising costs.
Researchers also spoke to parents and carers about the current financial state in the UK, with 23% of parents and carers saying that they had found it “quite” or “very” difficult to manage financially between January and March this year.
One in six children and young people living in households under financial strain had low life satisfaction compared with just under one in 10 not living in households under financial strain.
One young person told researchers: “I’ve been working since I was 14 to try to save money when I’m 18 so I could move out straight away.
“[Because of the] cost of living, Covid, all of that, 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, yet I’ve got nothing.”
Some 35% of young people surveyed said they were “very” or “quite” worried about crime in the UK and almost a third said they were “very” or “quite” worried about the environment, online safety and inequality.
The report highlights that in 2022, 15-year-olds in the UK reported having the lowest life satisfaction in Europe compared with others in their age group.
Mark Russell, chief executive at The Children’s Society, said: “UK teenagers are facing a happiness recession, with 15-year-olds recording the lowest life satisfaction on average across 27 European nations.
“The UK ranks 4th highest for food poverty among 15-year-olds across 21 European countries, underscoring the severe impacts of societal inequalities on their wellbeing.
“We're not merely highlighting problems; we're advocating for solutions. We have devised concrete steps to address these national challenges. It's time for change, and we're committed to leading the way."
The Children’s Society is calling on the government to “overturn the decline in children’s wellbeing and set a path to a good childhood”.
Recommendations laid out in the report include ensuring that early intervention and preventative mental health and wellbeing support is in place for children and young people before they hit crisis, ending child poverty and prioritising children’s wellbeing.
In the most recent King’s Speech, Keir Starmer’s government announced the creation of a children’s wellbeing bill.
