When I was a kid, on Halloween when we went door to door saying "Trick or treat for Unicef!", holding out our little orange boxes for spare change that went to help poor, sick children in foreign countries.
Now to be fair, when you see the United States listed by UNICEF as 20th out of 21 nations as far as the well-being of children, that's in industrialized nations. We're still way ahead of the thrid world nations.
The run down:
CHILD WELL-BEING TABLE
1. Netherlands
2. Sweden
3. Denmark
4. Finland
5. Spain
6. Switzerland
7. Norway
8. Italy
9. Republic of Ireland
10. Belgium
11. Germany
12. Canada
13. Greece
14. Poland
15. Czech Republic
16. France
17. Portugal
18. Austria
19. Hungary
20. United States
21. United Kingdom
Source: Unicef
What exactly are the criteria they used?
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Ok. I I'm not sure if it's my computer or what but every time I use this site it tells me I have the incorrect password (even though I have written it down so I know what it is!!!!) Then I go to create a new a acount and I am told that an account already exisits (with the same password!!!) and then it logs me in. it is very frustrating....
Anyway...I think I have a theory as to why we (America) are ranked so low.
We have seen a loss of traditional family values, like eatting together at the dinner table, or sharing a house with three or even four generations of family memebers. In Europe especially, i think these practices are a little more common.
Also, in the United States, parents seem to be quick to overschedule their kids, or they allow their kids to stay glued to televisions and computers 24/7 playing video games. There is no way either is a healthly way to foster child development.
When I was younger, I spent almost all my time outdoors or reading; my parents rarely allowed me to watch t.v. . Now, I am thankful for this because I have so many wonderful childhood memories. In twenty years, I can look back and tell my children about the secret fort my friend and I built in my mom's garden, or I can tell them about the massive games of "kick the can" and "capture the flag" that my neighborhood used to play.
I can't speack for other countries but I the United States also pushes a lot of expections on its youth. The media feeds us with photoshoped ideals of beauty that the normal person has no hope of attaining. Families,on the other hand, often push for their children to become overachievers (perfect grades, involvement etc.) so that they can go to a "good college" and get a "good job."
Back in the 1970's most students said their life goal was to find a philosophy they could believe in. Now, students say their life goal is to get a degree that will gain a well paying job. I think that speaks for itself.
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