Children's lives 'harder today' bbc article

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This is a very complex subject , covered quite briefly by this article , however there are some interesting points raised .
BBC NEWS | UK | Children's lives 'harder today'

Children's lives 'harder today'

The report sets out ways to improve the lives of children

Children's lives are more difficult now than they were in the past, according to the largest survey into childhood ever to be conducted in the UK.

The finding comes despite the authors saying children have better education, health and more possessions.

It states children need to be loved and sets out recommendations to parents, teachers and the government on how they can better care for children.

The Sunday Times says the Children's Society report had 35,000 contributors.

Problems

The document, entitled A Good Childhood - which is due out on Monday - also backs traditional families, saying that by the age of three, children of single parents are three times more likely to have behavioural problems.

Child psychologist Laverne Antrobus: 'I think that parents can feel very guilty'

Child psychologist Laverne Antrobus told BBC News that children are likely to let their parents know when they are not happy.

She said: "I think as a parent you're never quite sure if you're doing the right thing actually. But children can, under certain circumstances if the environment's not right for them, they let you know through their behaviour."

The study also suggests children of single-parent families are twice as likely to experience poor conceptual development compared with those with married parents.

The report's recommendations include the introduction of a civil birth ceremony and the possibility for parents to take three-years' leave, with a guaranteed return to work.

Lincolnshire mother Sarah Parish said she refused to believe her children suffered as a result of her job.

"I wanted to find me again and have something for me as well as the children.


What would we do if our aim was a world based on love?
A Good Childhood report

"I enjoy my job, I knew they would be no worse off at nursery as they are at home with me.

I do miss them incredibly but I make sure I spend time with them and do the things they enjoy doing as well," she said.

The report also looks at what it describes as "a massive change in our way of life" - the fact that 70% of mothers now work, compared with around a quarter 25 years ago - and that one in three 16-year-olds now live apart from their father.

The Sunday Times quotes the report as stating a key factor in the increased difficulties faced by children is the "excessively individualistic ethos" of contemporary British society.

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The paper says the report calls for "a radical shift away from the excessively individualistic ethos which now prevails, to an ethos where the constant question is, 'What would we do if our aim was a world based on love?'"

The paper reports the study is endorsed by the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and that it is independent, but commissioned by the Church of England-affiliated Children's Society.

 

[amastie]

This is a very complex subject , covered quite briefly by this article , however there are some interesting points raised .
BBC NEWS | UK | Children's lives 'harder today'

Yes, for me I have a sense of it overgeneralizing in some ways - eg
"the report calls for "a radical shift .... to an ethos where the constant question is, 'What would we do if our aim was a world based on love?'"
[Sorry, I don't know how to include the quote within a quote in the correct form of a quotation]

To me, that question just isn't specific enough. It doesn't really say anything meaningful. A world based on love? Of course. But how? But making all families two parent families? By keeping all mothers home for the first three years of life? Sounds good but totally unrealistic. Neither is the conclusion it draws well supported by the words in this article at least.

When I read that it was commissioned, however "independently" by "the Church of England-affiliated Children's Society", my heckles rise in pursuit of a hidden (or not-so-hidden) agenda. May or may not be, but it's harder for me to accept at face value.

A world based on love is, I think, what everyone wants, including the mothers that go to work and leave their infants in day-care, and the single-parent families.

I'm sorry but I can't help but respond in this way.

 

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I agree Amastie , the way it is expressed is superficial , and not all the right pertinent questions are asked , however reading between the lines , there are some important points raised , I would have liked them to say overtly that some families spend little or no quality time together , due to outside commitments etc.
It is evident that it is not the length of time you spend with your children , but how you spend it
A single parent has so many pressures to cope with , that if there is not a supportive family structure , such as parents or siblings close by, then just sheer exhaustion may produce emotional neglect of small children and the TV
is more likely to be used as a surrogate nanny .