Inequality, materialism & children’s well-being in the UK

In 2007, a UNICEF report found that the UK was at the bottom of the league table of child well-being, with subsequent work showing that inequality among children in the UK is greater than it is in other OECD countries. In order to understand the statistics behind these findings UNICEF UK commissioned a piece of qualitative research with Ipsos Mori and Dr Agnes Nairn. Comparing the experiences of children in the UK with children in Spain and Sweden, and paying particular attention to the interplay between materialism, inequality and well-being, the research found that parents in the UK struggle to find time to meet their children’s needs and that consumer goods and commercial pressures have a strong role in creating and reinforcing social divisions. Read the full report here: