Children's Wellbeing: How the Richest Nations Care for Their Most Vulnerable

The true measure of a nation’s standing is how well it attends to its children – their health and safety, their material security, their education and socialization, and their sense of being loved, valued, and included in the families and societies into which they are born.

The recent Innocenti Report Card published in 2007 by UNICEF on the status of children in the wealthiest countries has shown one stark fact; that wealth is not an indicator of the well-being of children.

Twenty-one of the wealthiest nations were studied using 6 measurable dimensions: 1) material well-being, 2) health and safety, 3) educational well-being, 4) family and peer relationships, 5) behaviors and risks, and 6) subjective well-being.

1) Material well-being: three components were measured under this one; relative income poverty, households without jobs, and reported deprivation. US rank=15/21, well below the average.

2) Health and safety: 3 components were measured; health at age 0-1, preventative health services, and safety. US rank=21/21, the worst with high accidental death rates for children and infants.

3) Educational wellbeing: 3 components were measured; school achievement at age 15, beyond basics, and the transition to employment. 11/21.

4) Relationships: 3 components were measured: family structure, family relationships, and peer relationships. US rank=20/21.

5) Behaviors and risks: 3 components were measured: health behaviors, risk behaviors, and experience of violence. US rank 20/21.

6) Subjective wellbeing: 3 components; health, school life, and personal wellbeing. Information for overall US ranking is not available.

The study highlights the fact that there is serious child neglect in the richest countries. In a decade where we are spending billions of dollars every month to finance wars and to give tax breaks to large corporations, it is apparent that children are not benefiting from the wealth we have.

Do we need to change our moral framework of thinking to place the rights of the most vulnerable human beings above the bottom line? Should we advocate for the welfare of our children along human rights lines by making it illegal and immoral to neglect their overall wellbeing because we are too busy working, not parenting, and fighting wars that serve no constructive purpose? Can we make access to proper education, health care, and fulfilling life opportunities available in a well-planned and future oriented manner?

Children are the future. They are our collective investment as a humanity. How well we treat them and nurture their best qualities will determine our fate as a species.

For the full report: Child Poverty in Perspective: An overview of child well-being in rich countries. A comprehensive assessment of the lives and well-being of children and adolescents in the economically advanced nations

UNICEF