Irish children happier than their British counterparts

CHILDHOOD in Ireland is a happier, healthier experience than in England, Scotland and Wales, according to a comprehensive survey involving more than 20,000 children.

The survey, co-authored by NUI Galway and conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), found Irish children:

* Have a higher life satisfaction than their British counterparts.

* Are less likely to report feeling low or having poor body image.

* Are more likely to engage in physical activity and less likely to spend excessive time on computers or on games consoles.

*Are most likely to live with both parents and in bigger households and talk to their fathers about things that bother them.

* Are most likely to spend time with friends after school.

The report, entitled Young People’s Health in Great Britain and Ireland, also highlights the lack of data on sexual behaviour among Irish adolescents.

One of the report’s authors, Dr Saoirse Nic Gabhainn, who works in the Health Promotion Research Centre at NUI Galway, said there were difficulties collecting data on sexual behaviour in Ireland because of a “general nervousness” as to how parents might react.

“There really is a perception that parents wouldn’t allow questions in relation to condom use or sexual experience. The schools weren’t too sure either how parents might react,” Dr Nic Gabhainn said.

Ireland was the only country where questions on sexual health were not included in the questionnaire distributed to 5,000 children through their schools in 2006 on behalf of the researchers.

Asked if the recession was likely to have changed the outlook of children in Ireland, Dr Nic Gabhainn said that “you would expect some changes with economic change” but that certain fundamentals that bring stability to children’s lives remain intact.