The Children’s Society Magazine | Spring 2009 |
11
The Good Childhood Inquiry
‘
I have good days and bad
days. Some days I feel
pretty and other days
I feel really ugly and when
I have those days I pile on
the make-up. I think I need
to love myself more
’
.
Heva, aged 13, Milton Keynes
The Children’s Society on mental health
Good mental health and mental well-
being is fundamental to the quality of life.
It allows children to flourish. Children
today have more pressures than ever.
They worry about things like exams,
family life, bullying, appearance and
friends. All the work we do in our
projects encounters these issues. Many
children do not feel confident in everyday
life. We provide counselling and ongoing
support to these children.
The report says that 87%
of children in Britain are
happy. This means that
there is still a massive
1.5million who aren’t.
What is The Children’s Society
going to do?
This inquiry was essential in providing a
platform for children to tell society what
they feel makes a good childhood.
As an organisation, we are dedicated
and committed to taking action based
on the evidence of the final report.
The report itself makes a series of
independent recommendations about
how to create change for some of the
issues discussed. The Children’s Society
will create a comprehensive plan
that will address and make our own
recommendations for making
childhood better.
Excessive individualism
The report says that excessive individualism is the greatest threat to the lives
of children. So what does this mean in plain English? It’s simply an expression To find out where you can get a copy
used to describe a growing culture of selfishness. A society, where we put our of the full report, turn to page 20 or
own interests before the interests of others, particularly children. visit www.childrenssociety.org.uk/
goodchildhood
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