Top concern for young people is not having enough money in future, research suggests | UK News
Young people in the UK worry more about having enough money in the future than they do about anything else, according to new research.
The Children’s Society’s Good Childhood Report, published on Wednesday, found nearly 37% of children and young people are either very or quite worried about having enough money when they are older.
Young people’s previous top concern for the future was around the environment, the charity said, with 46% now worried about rising prices in general.
One in 10 people aged between 10-17 are unhappy with their lives, the report adds, while even more have a “gloomy outlook” on society.
The charity’s chief executive, Mark Russell, described children’s sliding happiness as a “national scandal”.
“It is really shocking that almost half of all young people feel gloomy about the state of our world, because we know they feel deeply about the future and have a deep sense of justice,” he said.
“The need for improving children’s wellbeing is urgent,” he added, calling for an increase to child benefits and greater representation of their views in government.
The report is based on responses from a sample of 2,000 children aged between 10-17 and their parents or carers.
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Other findings from the report suggest:
- 47% of children in secondary school and above feel safe being out in their area at night;
- 43% do not feel positive about the country’s future;
- 45% do not feel positive about the world at large.
In 2020-21, children’s average scores for happiness with their life as a whole, appearance, friends, school, and schoolwork were all significantly lower than when the survey began in 2009-10.
“The last few years have been extremely tough and life is just too hard for too many children,” Mr Russell said.
“It is a national scandal that children’s happiness continues to slide.”