U.S. and Britain last in affluent nation rating of children's well-being

even tho' this isn't good news, i actually am glad to see it because it confirms many of my own less-than-expert observations...

Issuing ratings on the well-being of children in affluent nations, UNICEF faulted the United States and Britain Wednesday, ranking them bottom among 21 industrialized countries. Typical of poor scorers were children who did not trust their friends, rarely spent time with parents and over-ate. Poverty among minorities and a lack of books in homes also dragged down scores.

The Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark topped the overall UNICEF league table, based on surveys among children and other data.

[...]

The report flunks the US and Britain, which are respectively in 20th and 21st position.

The two countries score particularly badly in the "Family and Peer Relationships" and the "Behaviours and Risks" categories.

For the first of these categories, 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds were asked questions such as if their friends were "kind and helpful" and how often they ate the main meal of the day with parents. Living in single-parent families and stepfamilies lowered the score.

To evaluate risks, pollsters checked on how many children avoided alcohol, hazardous sex and pregnancy as well as boosted their health eating fruit and vegetables every day.

Another category checked books in the home or how many children had these eight educational items at home: a desk for study, a quiet place to work, a computer for schoolwork, educational software, an internet connection, a calculator, a dictionary and school textbooks.

The United States ranked last when it came to child health and safety.

i notice a distinct difference in kids' attitudes as i travel around, and, i have to say, the negativity i observe among kids in the u.s. is a marked contrast from what i observe in other countries... here in argentina, it's very common to see family groups doing things together, from shopping and taking bike rides to having picnics or just walking around... even teenagers are surprisingly polite, giving up seats on trains and buses for their elders, holding doors open, and shaking hands and giving the customary kiss on the cheek when being introduced to an adult... don't get me wrong... there are annoying punks here just like everywhere, but, overall, kids just feel a lot more integrated into the daily functioning of society, and i think that's a very good thing...

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