I have just read a very interesting article in The Guardian recently about what could be at the root of a lot of kids' behavior problems and how we can solve them. The main thrust of this article was how the consumerist society has put enormous pressure on parents to make up for lost prime time with their kids by buyimg them designer clothes, toys and technology.
At least that is the view of many parents in the UK. UNICEF also points out that the long working hours of many British families is putting enormous pressure on them and their children. The fact that the family structure has disintegrated in many cases over the last twenty years or so does not help matters either.
In fact the UK is scoring very badly according to a UNICEF report which puts the UK at the bottom of the table of 21 industrialized countries as regards the well being and happiness of their children.
But the survey also pointed out that things operate rather differently in Scandinavia and Spain.
In Sweden, first of all, advertising certain goods to under twelves is banned from children's TV programs and therefore takes a lot of the pressure off. Also there are more shared household and parenting tasks so that neither parent feels overwhelmed. That coupled with the lack of advertising flaunted at kids does help to ease the pervasive 'consumer culture' so keenly felt in the UK and some other countries too.
In Spain the situation is different again in that the extended family can often play a positive role in helping to rear kids so that many of the relatives including grandparents are involved in rearing the children.
When the children themselves were asked about kids' behavior problems, they were quick to point out that their happiness was dependent on several rather important factors and none of these include designer clothes!
Their main sources of happiness was spending time with their parents and friends and also having plenty of green time activities.
In spite of that the UK lags behind some other countries as regards kids behavior problems in that the parents just are absent, do not know how to parent or simply respond to the enormous consumerist pressure which is heaped on them and their children day after day.
