What has happened to children's wellbeing in the UK?

Abstract

“Modern life has been chipping away at children's happiness over time”; this statement was the pessimistic conclusion of The Good Childhood Report 2020,1 which focused on wellbeing in children between the ages of 10 and 15 years across the UK. The report emphasised that children in the UK, especially girls, are among the most unhappy and least satisfied in Europe. The UK ranked lowest of 24 European countries in its proportion of children aged 15 years with high life satisfaction, lowest in its proportion with a positive sense of purpose in life, and second highest in its proportion with high sadness levels.