The kids ARE all right! How youngsters are more optimistic than adults on life’s big issues

WE commonly think of children as being worried about the future of the planet and what life holds for them.

But in fact youngsters are more optimistic than adults on many of life’s major issues, according to an official report published today.

The Big Ambition report, by England’s children’s commissioner Rachel de Souza, found that 84 per cent of the children surveyed agreed they can access good healthcare when they need it. But in cases where adults were asked that same question – on behalf of children who were either too young to respond themselves or had additional needs – the number agreeing fell to 74 per cent.

Asked if they knew about ‘good jobs for when you are older’, 76 per cent of children agreed, but that fell to 54 per cent of the adult respondents.

The report also shows that the majority of children say they are happy they have all they need in their home life. But while it also shows this generation is engaged with the world, it found they are frustrated that politicians are not listening to their concerns. Just 22 per cent of them agreed that those who run the country listened to them, making it the most negatively answered question in the survey.

Dame Rachel said: ‘This is a generation of children faced with everevolving technology, stiff competition for jobs and university places, a postcode lottery in access to good healthcare, parents struggling with rising costs and lives played out over social media. But rather than becoming despondent or pessimistic, they are charged with energy and a passion for making change.

‘yet – disappointingly – only one in five feel listened to by the adults in power. Without the proper structures in place to consult with them, it means when it comes to elections, manifestos... their opinions are too easily ignored.’

The report did highlight concerns about body image, with just 49 per cent of children agreeing with the statement ‘you feel happy with the way you look’. only four out of ten girls agreed, and six out of ten boys.

Dame Rachel said The Big Ambition was ‘a call to action to all politicians and policy makers in this general election year’.

The document sets out 33 ambitions to transform childhood, including annual health checks, support within one term for children with additional needs, and more support for families with living costs.

The report was based on responses from 367,000 children and adults. Eighty-five per cent of responses came from children, and 15 per cent from parents, carers and other adults.