CYP Now - Editorial: Policy alone cannot improve children's lives

What's it like to be a child or young person in the UK today? At first glance, this looks like a straightforward question, but the answers will be many and varied. The life experiences (and chances) of a young asylum seeker, for instance, will vary dramatically from a disabled child, a young offender or a teenager growing up in a two-parent household in an affluent suburb.

However, Unicef's much-publicised assessment of the lives of youngstersin 21 industrialised nations tries to paint a comprehensive picture ofchildren's wellbeing in each of these countries (see Briefing, p17). Theaim is to measure and compare wellbeing by looking at six "dimensions"such as health, education, and peer and family relationships.

For the UK, the prognosis isn't encouraging. Not only do we fare badlywhen it comes to material and educational wellbeing, but we also comelast for relationships and for behaviours and risks.

In fact, while the whole report makes for depressing reading, perhapsthe most disheartening dimension is the one dealing withrelationships.

Although the UK does okay when it comes to parents spending time talkingto their children, we come bottom of the list when young people areasked: "Do you find your peers generally kind and helpful?"

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