Why are Britain's children reportedly amongst the worst behaved in the world?

(by Geoff Seeff <geoffseeff@cix.co.uk> on 3rd September 2009)

According to a recent report by the OECD, children, specifically teenagers, in the UK exhibit behaviour that is compares unfavourably with most other countries in the developed world. A third of youngsters between 13 and 15 admit to having been drunk at least twice, the highest proportion of any country with Canada the second highest at one quarter, and we have the fourth highest rate of under 16 pregnancies, only exceeded by Mexico, Turkey and the USA. Average spending on each child during their developing years exceeds the international average so what has gone wrong?

Not surprisingly, there is no simple answer. Contrary to what Iain Duncan Smith has argued in his analysis of the problem, there is, according to the OECD, no appreciable difference in behaviour as between children brought up by two parents as by a single parent. So, the answer is not marriage. Stable relationships, a nurturing home environment and a stimulating work and social life may have a much more profound influence on the matter.

With regard to drunkenness, the incidence of which is apparently higher amongst girls than boys, I am not sure that we should be overly concerned. Continental Europe has a culture of teaching responsible drinking, starting from very early years. The British tend not to encourage children to drink wine or beer with a meal so as soon as kids are able to lay their hands on alcohol they "binge". However, it is also a method of teaching responsible drinking for, in the vast majority of cases and especially amongst girls (regrettably not all), having had the experience of inebriation more than a couple of time, they learn that the after effects are particularly unpleasant and refrain from overindulgence. Yes it can be addictive, yes it can lead to serious illness and yes, it is extremely disagreeable for those who have to clear up the physical and psychological mess of abuse. But perhaps we are better off living in a society where free will can be exercised - in this case to drink or not to drink - than one in which is regimented in such a way that even responsible consumption is prohibited and incurs severe penalties.

The one change I would make to licensing laws that might help reduce the abuse of alcohol amongst the young, and for that matter, by their elders, is to ensure that all individuals, not just owners and managers, selling or serving alcohol, whether in an off licence or public house, receive proper accredited training in alcohol use . This will give them authority to refuse to serve those under age or customers already the "worse for wear" whilst withdrawal of their accreditation for doing so would prevent them continuing in that line of work. Such a system operates in Australia.

Teenage pregnancy is a complicated issue of a different order to drunkenness. The reasons for promiscuity are numerous (including the need for love as well as experimentation), the failure to prevent unwanted pregnancy, if that is what it is (and it is not invariably the case), is matter of education whilst the consequences of pregnancy can be tragic for all involved.

The fact is that each generation of teenagers everywhere believes that it has discovered sex. I suspect that the difference between teenagers in the UK and say continental Europe is not that they are more promiscuous but that that, in general, those countries adopt, a more open and mature approach to sex education. Whilst I am sure sex education is infinitely better today than it was when I was a teenager - parents and schools are not particularly good at it here. We need to get some lessons from the Scandinavians if we are serious about dealing with the problem.

Incidentally, I am surprised that the teenage pregnancy rate is higher in Turkey than UK, given its religious heritage and its family orientated culture. On the other hand it is not that many years ago when that country's marriageable age for a girl was 12 and, even today, it is just 15. This will undoubtedly affect attitudes and the pregnancy statistics, at least as they relate to the rural areas..

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