The nation’s betrayal of our young
by Lynda Rose, Christian Today:
‘The foundation of every state is the education of its young.’ So said Diogenes in the 5th century BC, and it is an axiom that still holds true today. Children are the future. For both their wellbeing and our good, it is the responsibility of all of us to care for and educate them, giving them the tools that will help them best use their particular gifts, and so grow up to be happy and fulfilled individuals. Only in this way can we ensure the continuance and future good of society.
But something has gone badly wrong.
In a newly published report by The Children’s Society, The Good Childhood Report 2024, it is claimed that British teenagers rank as the least happy in Europe. Analysing data from a survey conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCED), looking into teenage life satisfaction across Europe, the report states that 25.2% of 15-year-olds in the UK describe low life satisfaction, as compared with a European average of 16.6%, and in stark contrast to the Netherlands’ 6.7% – putting the UK firmly at the bottom of the list.
These findings, if accurate, are shocking and should be a wake-up call, because if the causes of the problem are not now properly identified and addressed, not only will the lives of these young people be irrevocably blighted, but society as we know it will collapse.
The report highlights such matters as the family, personal appearance, school, and climate change as potential problem areas contributing to general dissatisfaction and feelings of unhappiness, pinpointing especially financial hardship and strain – it was found, for example, that in the month before the survey, one in ten 15-year-olds in the UK said that they had missed meals due to lack of money.
But though these may well be contributory factors, such bland analysis surely ignores the very large elephant standing in the centre of the room, because these are merely symptoms of infection, and do nothing to tackle the disease at source. No, the real, and infinitely more shocking, truth is that society itself has created this problem and, to put it right, society now must change.
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