The US is 20th out of 21 nations for child welfare...

[rogerluli]

This UNICEF report came out yesterday ranking the 21 richest nations on the state of children's welfare in their country. Britain was 21st and the US was 20th. We got clobbered by places like Hungary, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Poland and Greece... Is this the best we can do to care for our most precious resource? Is it any wonder we continually read horrific stories of teen gunmen going on a shooting rampage?

 

 

 

BERLIN/FLORENCE, 14 February 2007 ¨C The UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre today releases the Report Card 7 which focuses on the well-being of children and young people in the world¡¯s advanced economies and provides the first comprehensive assessment.

 

The six dimensions taken to measure the well- being of children ¨C material well-being, health and safety, education, peer and family relationships, behaviours and risks, and young people¡¯s own subjective sense of well-being ¨C offer a picture of the lives of children, and no single dimension can stand as a reliable proxy for child well-being as a whole.

 

The landmark report shows that among all of the 21 OECD countries there are improvements to be made and that no single OECD country leads in all six of the areas.

 

¡°All countries have weaknesses to be addressed¡± says Innocenti Director Marta Santos Pais, ¡°No single dimension of well-being stands as a reliable proxy for child well-being as a whole and several OECD countries find themselves with widely differing rankings for different dimensions of children¡¯s lives.¡±

 

According to the Report Card small North-European countries dominate the top half of the table, with child well-being at its highest in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. There is no strong or consistent relationship between per capita GDP and child well-being. The Czech Republic, for example, achieves a higher overall rank for child well-being than several much wealthier European countries. Also no country features in the top third of the rankings for all six dimensions of child well-being.

 

Pointing out that the Convention on the Rights of the Child calls on all countries to invest in its children ¡°to the maximum extent of available resources¡±, Ms. Santos Pais said that international comparison was a way of testing this commitment - ¡°A country cannot be said to be doing the best it can for its children if other countries at a similar stage of economic development are doing much better ¨C and that¡¯s what the league tables are designed to show.¡±

 

First step

 

The Innocenti Report is intended as a first step towards regular and comprehensive monitoring of child well-being across the OECD. Its scope is limited by the availability of internationally comparable data (which means that key areas such as mental and emotional health and child neglect and abuse are omitted). Nonetheless UNICEF hopes that the Report will help to stimulate the collection or more comprehensive and more timely data.

 

Child wellbeing needs to be addressed by public policies across a broad spectrum of aspects. Given levels of child well-being are not inevitable and show what is possible to do to improve the lives of children.

 

¡°All families in OECD countries today are aware that childhood is being re-shaped by forces whose mainspring is not necessarily the best interests of the child. At the same time, a wide public in the OECD countries is becoming ever more aware that many of the corrosive social problems affecting the quality of life have their genesis in the changing ecology of childhood. Many therefore feel that it is time to attempt to re-gain a degree of understanding, control and direction over what is happening to our children in their most vital, vulnerable years. That process begins with measurement and monitoring. And it is as a contribution to that process that the Innocenti Research Centre has published this initial attempt at a multi-dimensional overview of child well-being in the countries of the OECD.¡± (Innocenti Report Card 7, page 39)

[notrevorich]

I have recently been to Hungary and I was not impressed with their state of affairs , as a casual observer .

I just called my friend who has Family members there and it's a tough place to raise a family and her nephews want to come to America .There is not a lot of extra's that many working class families can provide .

Hungray is Not a place I would want to live .

The U.N is the Last organization whose reports I would ever believe ,

They are always USA bashing .

There are Many things that are not perefect here in America but I think child welfare isn't a major problem .

How about talking about what is really great about this country instead of the negativity .

[rogerluli]

How about talking about what is really great about this country instead of the negativity .

 

Please enlighten us...

[Urkidding]

How about talking about what is really great about this country instead of the negativity .

 

Please enlighten us...

 

 

Well... for one... We have McDonald's and Burger King!

 

 

 

 

http://www.lakesofbuckingham.org//junk/Tejas.gif

 

 

Oh... Sorry, we had McDonalds!

[rogerluli]

How about talking about what is really great about this country instead of the negativity .

 

Please enlighten us...

 

 

Well... for one... We have McDonald's and Burger King!

 

 

 

 

http://www.lakesofbuckingham.org//junk/Tejas.gif

 

 

Oh... Sorry, we had McDonalds!

 

[Ron&Sasa]

I would like to say that I have been around the world to many countries and think the USA is a great place. I do not give to much merit to that pole. The thing that bothers me is that we can spend billions on other items. We could house all the homeless and care for the children better.

[pkfops]

Brings to mind my first trip to China.

 

My wife and I were walking in the center of GZ during

the 5pm rush and the streets and sidewalks was packed.

 

Then the sidewalk "opened up" and there was this line of about

20 pre school kids being led by two teachers.

 

Everybody made way for the kids.

[rogerluli]

Brings to mind my first trip to China.

 

My wife and I were walking in the center of GZ during

the 5pm rush and the streets and sidewalks was packed.

 

Then the sidewalk "opened up" and there was this line of about

20 pre school kids being led by two teachers.

 

Everybody made way for the kids.

 

Children are EXTREMELY important to the Chinese. Laopo's father goes to his son's apartment to cook a hot meal every weekday for his grandson. When the little kid comes home for lunch there is grampa with his lunch as his mother and father are both working. The kid must feel how cared about he is...

 

Sure in the US parents provide cars and all the latest electronics that $$$ can buy...but is everybody too busy to have a real family life for them... I think that's the point of the poll. Throwing more money at children does NOT produce better people. If your focus is only on the economic side then Columbine type stuff is what you get...

[Urkidding]

In China - it all has to do with the one child policy. All little boys are treated as "Little Emperor¡± Little girls are second banana.

 

It¡¯s pretty sad especially when you see how cute the little girls are.

 

But lets face it, this world is going to have problems no matter where you go so, yes they are our most precious commodity and we should be preserving them, no matter girl or boy.

[Rakkasan]

Next, did it ever occur to you that the homeless are homeless by choice. And why should I as a tax payer pay to house those who choose to ruin their lives with drugs and alcohol. There are plenty of private charitable organizations out there that would be happy to take your money if you are hell bent on saving the world. I routinely make donations to organizations that I believe in and do not expect the goverment to contribute to my causes. If anything extra money should be directed towards securing our southern border. Maybe we could line up all the homeless along the border and create a human wall to stop the illegals from entering the US.

 

It is also not the job of the government to care for children, that is the job of parents. Granted some parents are better at raising children than others, but that does not make it the governments job to be the great equalizer for children. Some of this nations greatest leaders came from impoverished backgrounds. Some would say it builds character, drive and determination. Why is it people think because some kids have a good life that all kids are entitled to the same. I have 2 brothers, in the summer we shared one baseball glove because that was all my parents could afford. They did not think it was the governments job to provide extra baseball gloves. We ate enough ground beef and pasta to last a lifetime because it was cheap and it was not provided by the government. I suspect that there is a charitable organization in your area that provides for children, make a donation to them today.

 

If you really want to help out, call your congressman and demand an across the board tax cut, so you can have more money to spend on things you want and create a demand that will create more jobs, that will provide money for familys to take care of themselves. By the way, the US has the richest poor people in the world. Since I suspect you have been to an Asian nation at least once, you surely have seen real poverty and should realize that what we have in this country is pseudo poverty. Having a car, cable TV, microwave, washer/dryer, closets full of clothing and multiple bedrooms is not poverty.

Edited February 15, 2007 by donahso (see edit history)

[rogerluli]

We could do a little better with our spending, . We could house all the homeless and care for the children better.

It is also not the job of the government to care for children, that is the job of parents. Granted some parents are better at raising children than others, but that does not make it the governments job to be the great equalizer for children. Some of this nations greatest leaders came from impoverished backgrounds. Some would say it builds character, drive and determination. Why is it people think because some kids have a good life that all kids are entitled to the same. I have 2 brothers, in the summer we shared one baseball glove because that was all my parents could afford. They did not think it was the governments job to provide extra baseball gloves. We ate enough ground beef and pasta to last a lifetime because it was cheap and it was not provided by the government. I suspect that there is a charitable organization in your area that provides for children, make a donation to them today.

 

 

All of the countries ahead of the US in this study are poorer. But evidently the people think enough of their children to care for them properly. Obviously money does not equate to successfully raising children as your own childhood attests. So what is the problem in the US with raising children??? Is there a child psychologist in the house to answer this question???

[Trigg]

Next, did it ever occur to you that the homeless are homeless by choice.

Children are homeless by choice?? Are you 100% sure of this?

[Rakkasan]

 

All of the countries ahead of the US in this study are poorer. But evidently the people think enough of their children to care for them properly. Obviously money does not equate to successfully raising children as your own childhood attests. So what is the problem in the US with raising children??? Is there a child psychologist in the house to answer this question???

First of all the report is from the UN which means it is suspect from the start. Secondly, whose standard is being used to determine if there actually is a problem? US children are spoiled rotten, even poor children are spoiled when compared to children in other parts of the world.

 

I am not a psychologist, but I play one on TV. Part of the problem is the divorce rate in the US and that parents, mostly fathers because of being reduced to visitor status in the childrens lives, indulge their children to make up for not being able to part of thier lives full time (Disney Dads). The other factor is also because of divorce, and again this applies more to fathers, since women tend to be more bitter after divorce, fathers are reluctant to punish their childrens misbehavior either because they don't want the 4 days per month to have any negatives or because they fear retaliation from the ex-wife and accusations of abuse if they discipline their children.

 

The only cure and not one we will see any time soon is for family courts to recognize a fathers importance and to start awarding equal time and joint custody. One week with mom, one week with dad, this has been done and children do quite well. It gives both parents plenty of time with the children and eliminates the need for child support since neither parent is burdened with excessive expenses.

 

The other issue the courts need to address is the womens bitterness. To often women use their children as a means of striking back at the ex-husband. Parental Alienation Syndrome is real and documented. Mothers intentionally turn their children against their father either to punish him or to have the children all to themselves. I recently was reunited with a guy I grew up with, we did all the usual things together including Boy Scouts and Explorers. His dad was very involved with all his kids. This guy now after his parents divorce won't even speak to his father and hasn't for more than 20 years because his dad was "an asshole". I tried to remind him of all the things we did as kids because of his dad involvement but he won't hear it. He truly believes his dad was evil growing up. Both his mom and dad were hard core liberals, real touchy feely tree huggers. I spent many a night at his house, even when his parents didn't know I was in the house until the next morning when we sobered up, there was never any yelling or anything abusive from either parent. They lived their touchy feely beliefs. After the divorce mom turned all 4 kids against their father. I have an aunt who did the same thing with all but one of her kids. The courts need to recognize this and punish any parent who screws with their kids.

 

I do agree that parents in the US tend to ignore their children in pursuit of thier own interests. Sometimes I think children are seen as a requirement to appease the grandparents, unless of course the kids are accidents in which case they interrupted an otherwise perfect life.

I have posted before about the use of video games and television as a mean of avoiding your kids. Now you can have a DVD player installed in your SUV so you don't have to interact with them while driving to after school activities.

 

I have studied martial arts for years, I am always amazed at the number of moms who drop their 5 to 10 year olds off at the studio and go shopping for a couple of hours. They never get to see their own childs face the first time they break a board with their fist or win their first sparring match. I get to see it and take pleasure in thier sense of accomplishment every time.

 

Now back to my life as a TV psychologist.

[Rakkasan]

Next, did it ever occur to you that the homeless are homeless by choice.

Children are homeless by choice?? Are you 100% sure of this?

Perhaps not, but there are plenty of organizations out there to take care of them and they could use a donation. No need for the government to get involved and screw things up.

[A Mafan]

How did they define "state of children's welfare"?

If it was: how much is spent in welfare checks to families with children, then I think we'd WANT that number to be low.

 

Bottom line: in the U.S., the problem most associated with poverty is obesity. If cheap, widely-available calories are the most prevalent danger our poor kids face, that ain't too bad.