About this time last year, UNICEF and the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) released a report titled The Wellbeing of Australia’s Children.

The report measures the experiences of children in Australian against UNICEF’s global index for childhood wellbeing, alongside the five wellbeing domains that guide ARACY’s research. A summary of these is below:

While there isn’t space to go through the entire report, it’s findings – and the process taken to get there – reminded me how important it is to stop and reflect on our wellbeing, our children’s wellbeing and the wellbeing of those around us. Amongst the busy-ness of life it is easy to assume or pretend that we know how everyone is going, and generally that means we believe everyone is doing ok.

For a quick exercise why not reflect on the domains and goals listed above for your own children – how do they fair? What about the children in your street, or your child’s friends? Are there areas of your child’s life that you think could be improved?

Below is just a snippet from the report’s executive summary, along with some graphic samples of the data collected.

In the first instance, what this data tells us is that for the majority of children Australia is a great place to grow up. Most children have access to the food they need, are participating in education, and are optimistic about the future. But there are also areas which need urgent attention including stagnant poverty, emerging childhood obesity, and increasing rates of psychological distress. There also remains unacceptable inequity in Australia, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and a continued need to elevate the voices of children and young people in all aspects of society.

We may not have the resources of UNCEF and ARACY, but we all can, and should, take time to reflect on our own wellbeing and that of our children. Can I encourage you to do so in the coming week.

To read The Wellbeing of Australia’s Children report in full go to: The wellbeing of Australia’s children | UNICEF Australia