Children put parents first when judging happiness

Wellbeing study: Relationships with parents and family members are the most important influence on a child's wellbeing, according to children whose perspectives were sought in the development of Ireland's first national set of child wellbeing indicators.

Children aged seven to 15 were asked to take photographs of things, people and places which represented "being well, feeling happy and being able to live your life to the full".

These photographs were then categorised and placed in a hierarchical order by other children as the basis for children's input into the national set of child well-being indicators.

"Over 50 per cent of approximately 5,500 photos taken were of parents and families," said Dr Saoirse Nic Gabhainn, lecturer, Department of Health Promotion, National University of Ireland, Galway.

Nic Gabhainn and Jane Sixsmith were looking at children's understanding of wellbeing for the National Children's Office which launched the national set of child wellbeing indicators in Dublin yesterday.

The wellbeing indicators cover positive and negative aspects of children's lives in terms of their health, education, relationships and the experience of childhood itself.

By including children's input in the selection process, it resulted in environment/places, things to do and pets and animals being included as indicators, although they were not prioritised by the adults consulted.

"Including pets and animals as an indicator of children's well-being will impact on the inspection process of childcare settings because at the moment there are a lot of inspectors who don't like pets and we know that pets can have a soothing effect on children, helping them cope with negativity and giving them time out," according to Irene Gunning from the Irish Pre-school and Playgroup Association.

"The aim of the national set of child wellbeing indicators is to assess how well Irish children are doing across a broad range of issues," said Brian Lenihan, Minister for State with responsibility for Children who launched the indicators.

Ireland is the first state to include children's input in the development of a national set of child wellbeing indicators.

"Now, for the first time, when we have a bi-annual study of child wellbeing in Ireland, we can take the focus off services and the sense of competition between Government departments and agencies and look at how effectively we are meeting the needs of children's growth and development," said Dr Ed Carroll, a member of the advisory group which established the national set of child wellbeing indicators.