Sick child Of Europe

by Alan Tyers

Britain’s kids are among the unhappiest in the continent. Across a bundle of factors including health, ability to talk to parents and low chances of being in education or training, the UK came 24th out of 29 in a new survey.

Only the unappealing prospects of a young life in Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania were worse, as was Malta, which always seems quite a nice place, but there you have it.

What does this all mean? Is it linked to our triumphant position in the binge-drinking, drug-taking and teenage pregnancy tables, where Britain is enjoying a period of continental dominance that would put our three Champions League semi-finalists to shame? Is it our pandering schools system, where teachers dare not discipline a child for fear of reprisal? Is it our celebration of yobbishness and ignorance? Is it family breakdown? Is it the PS3? Is it knives? Is it Blu WKD?

One person who most certainly does not know is Children’s Minister Beverley Hughes.

“The fact that we created a new Government department to focus solely on children, schools and families shows the increased importance being given to children in this country,” says the Minister.

If you want an example of why this Government is spending so much and achieving so little, look no further. She’s saying: “Don’t worry that the evidence suggests we are failing badly, we’ve set up a department.” The solution to any problem? More talking, more public money, more initiatives, no change.

“Our Children’s Plan is our long-term vision and it puts children and families at the centre of everything Government does,” says Hughes.

This is just an empty… I was going to say “soundbite”, but that implies some sort of rhetorical punch. It is literally meaningless. Are children and families at the forefront of policy in Afghanistan? Or pensions? Really? Hopeless.

Looks like our kids will have to sort it out for themselves.

Comments

[coliflower]

add to note:
this morning i read metro and some famous lad said a joke which in fact was true story...his brother, a teacher asked youngen; what is the continent?? lad answered it is my nanan, she even got knbickers for it.... funny?// yeah, but more funny for me is the question which teacher asked.i knew what continent is before going to school...well in fact in eastern europe it is common all kids know, only in uk it is some kind of rocket sience!!! (dont mean to offend anyone apart from that lad who said that english youngens struggling coz of foreign influx)

[big john]

CHRIS, HERE HERE!!!

There speaks the voice of a parent who lives in the real world.

[Xena]

Pixie

We all know that. How come he didn't he's the one with the superior education and has been fluent in English since he was 9 years of age.

Coliflower says
...i was able to speak fluently in your language when i was 9- learnt it from school...where u- englishman -able to speak fluently in your origin language in that age...with level of educATION IN UK I AM CERTAIN YOU couldn't!!!!

By the way, I see you are falling back into bad habits again, making assumptions again!

[chris]

why are the kids are unhappy, lets start with the goverment - you can not discipline your children without fear of being prosecuted, we give the kids everything they want and they still want more. All this rubbish about drugs - teach them the word NO.
Bring back the cane at schools, kids get arrested for being drunk underage and nothing gets done, they get a telling off and then they go and do it again because they know the police won't do anything. Change the laws and make them afraifd of breaking the law and allow us to discipline our kids, never did me any harm. And stop spoiling them

[Pixie]

Coliflower

You have made a lot of excellent points in your posts, though I don't know that I agree that the children today 'have it easy'. We live in difficult social times in this country where good parenting is badly affected by abuse of alcohol and other drugs.

There are also many parents who are apparently filled with hatred, xenophobia and even racism and who would rather attack (sometimes literally) and condemn individuals than address the issues themselves.

Someone has condemned your use of the English language and described it as 'Pigeon English". That is hilariously ironic because, as I am sure you know even though English is not your first language, the correct term is PIDGIN English.

It just goes to show that those who are filled with hatred and bigotry need to be very careful in everything they do and say.

[Xena]

Malcolm PS

Don't you know an insult when you see one?

I'm waiting

[Xena]

Ah Malcolm

Here we go again. Wondered how long it would be before your head was raised above the parapet.

You still haven't answered my two very relevant questions regarding the demonstration you feel so strongly about.

The floor is yours.

[Malcolm]

Xena, how nice it would be if you would confine yourself to addressing the issues rather than, as usual for you, attacking the posters themselves.

I read coli's post quite easily and he/she makes valid points.

Now, let's see if you can do the same for once.

[do u need one???]

when i was a kid (13-16)i could only dream about having playstation, or some other treats available to english kids...i had to work to help my parents with upkeeping house and frankly survive,let alone to have any pocket money. When i was missbehaving it was only natural for my dad taking his belt off and smacking me few times on my backside, just to correct me up!!! i am praising him for that till today, for showing me the difference between good or bad ,he made me better person. then i had to study and work, then in age of 20 i went to totally strange country, i had to find a job, a place to live as i wasnt able to do that in my country...now when i look on kids in uk- how dare they complain that they are unhappy?? they have everything waiting on an plate...ps3, pc, help with getting house from goverment (FROM GOVERMENT!!!!), they are overprotected by law,and still you hear one youngster knifed another for...i pod, or another one throwing bricks toward bus, assaulting vulnerable and elderly people, taking drugs in age of 13, let alone drinking and smoking fags, having own kids in age of 14-15...it is appaling...they got it so easy to start with in uk thati cant see how they can be unhappy.If i would have half a chance of making it like them i would still be living in my country praising God for what i have got, and for letting me live, and for all treats he gave me...

[coliflower]

is it natural that kids in this country are being made mentally disabled coz of policies...heard kids are complaining about stressfull exams....so is it better to let them off, push them through schools (with low or no education after graduating) and them to the real world where after few days they will go to job centre trying to look incapable of working, let alone using their brains...children are future...and in uk case this future looks very bad....average english kid has no idea which countries are in europe, majority of them is not even able to find their own town on map...but they looking up to their parents...and what they see?
fat and lazy dad claiming benefits, smoking buds, drinking beer and farting, they see mum rolling spliffs for dad, looking scruffy.and to the lad who is moaning about low standard from east europe- kids from that area are proven by scientist to be far more knowledgeable then english youngens...i was able to speak fluently in your language when i was 9- learnt it from school...where u- englishman -able to speak fluently in your origin language in that age...with level of educATION IN UK I AM CERTAIN YOU COULDNT!!!! so before complaining ask- what have i done to make sure my kid is happy?

[Malcolm]

You ask, "How can a male offer the same sort of motherly support as a female?"

Well, if the 'motherly support' is like that of Karen Mattews or Kate McCann then the answer is, "Quite easily."

[Gemma]

wow, it takes a silly survey like this to bring out all the racists and homophobes! at least if two gay men or women have children, there's two parents in the family, unlike all the single teenage mothers out there. that's where the problem lies. they get pregnant, get money and a house from the social, and live it up, while the kid gets forgotten about and grows up to become a nasty teenager carrying knives and dodging school...

[tom]

immigration..... i think not, we always seem to blame immigration or "the government" for problems that are our own, we are happier letting our kids watch trashy TV than let them play outside, so that is where kids get their "family values", parents these day will happily let there kids be educated by prime time TV shows, but this isn't the folt of the media, as there are only there because we give them the change(audience) they need.

there is no respect in the youth today, because there is no reason for there to be, respect has to be earnt.

there are so many things wrong,and yet we have let it get to this stage, why because it was easier to let it happen than to fight against it.

[... ... ...]

eduardo | 22 April 2009 at 08:14

The state and us the tax payer (funny, I thought they were one and the same thing) pays for the upkeep of ignorant, lazy unproductive members of society who keep living off the social security benefits and most of these are still coming into the country.

However, that apart there are now 2.1 million unemployed and according to you lazy people on the dole.

Try explaining that to someone who has just lost their house.

Tell me eduardo how would your country of origin have dealt with that? Not very well apparently because you are here and not there.

[Andy]

Kids need the security of a functional family with a father and mother in order to feel safe and happy and to learn how to behave in a responsible manner. When this was the norm, the small minority of kids who had only one parent (or none) or who lived in a dysfunctional family could still relate to their peers who lived in a conventional family and understand that the family and the behaviour that stemmed from it was the natural order of things, which indeed it is.

The problem we have in the UK is that for 50 years we have had a sustained attack on the family by the state, primarily by the Socialists in their grotesque belief that thousands of years of evolution can and should be subverted and replaced by government diktat, but also by the other political parties who have failed to roll back Socialist policies when they had the opportunity.

It is no accident that Britain is lumped together in the league table with states where Socialism has been imposed and has failed. It will need more than a Socialist "Children's Plan" to remedy the situation. The real need is to root out the poisonous policies which have caused it, starting with a change of government.

[Brian Wylie]

Please don't start talking about bringing back National Service. The service are embroiled in too much serious stuff to be saddled with loads of half witted, half educated, undisciplined berks. I was in during National Service. The forces were full of people who did not want to be there. Not exactly the recipe for efficient fighting forces. Today with the entire lack of respect and discipline anywhere, the result would be chaos.

[eduardo]

It certainly is not the fault of immigrants from eastern europe or anywhere else. Britsh kids and in particular their parents have since the second world war have been on a downward spiral of poor education, health and general decency. Most of the problems we see today he in the Uk and throughtout the western world is due to poor family values coupled with poor education at home and schools.Also add the fact that the state and us the tax payer pays for the upkeep of ignorant, lazy unproductive members of society who keep living off the social security benefits makes the whole situation worse.The answer lies in better and stricter education, better citizenship and bringing back national service to sort all these bored and out off control youth and maybe some of their parents as well.

[Malcolm]

Too many British parents regard their children as 'a nuisance' whilst in Europe generally, and even more so in Asia, children and family life are paramount.

Simple as that. Don't go blaming the Government or the teachers - it starts at home.

[Peter]

The fact that the government definition of a family is "any unit of more than one person who choose to live together, regardless of lifestyle", says everything we need to know about where the problem is.

Sodom and Gomorrah have got nothing on Socialist Britain.

[just someone]

How did they work out British kids were 24th out of 29 unhappiest for goodness sake? I have 5 and to my knowledge nobody asked any of them.
Setting aside these dubiously compiled statistics - if someone would like to pay me a lot of money, I volunteer to travel around Europe undertaking a bit of governmental research.. ie I will find out why their children are so much happier than ours.

[... ... ...]

It's all these immigrants bringing in their low standards from the eastern european block.