IRISH CHILDREN are more physically active than youngsters in 40 other countries, a new report has found.
The study also ranked Ireland fifth when it analysed children's reading literacy levels in 29 states.
The State of the Nation's Children, compiled by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Barry Andrews, also said 47.5 per cent of babies were breast-fed on discharge from hospital in 2005, compared with just 39 per cent in 1999.
However, the report found about one in four Irish children reported bullying at school.
One in five of those aged 10 to 17 said they had been drunk at least once in the last 30 days, which was lower than the international average. However, the percentage who said they smoked cigarettes was higher than the average.
"The report shows that while there are some areas where children in Ireland need greater support, there are many areas where children in Ireland are doing very well," Mr Andrews said.
Ireland was ranked first for children's physical activity out of 41 countries surveyed. Almost 60 per cent of Irish children reported that they were physically active for at least 60 minutes a day on more than four days a week, when the data provided by children aged 11, 13 and 15 was analysed to draw international comparisons.
The average of the 41 countries surveyed was 42.6 per cent, with Russian children the least active at 28.6 per cent.
Irish boys were more likely than girls to report being physically active, according to one of the report's authors, Dr Sinéad Hanafin.
Meanwhile, Irish children ranked fifth in reading literacy out of 29 OECD countries. Korea had the highest ranking while Mexico had the lowest.
Dr Hanafin said Irish children were "about average" in an international comparison of ability in mathematics and science.
She said Irish girls performed much better in reading literacy than boys, while boys did slightly better in maths. Boys and girls achieved almost identical scores in science.
In its analysis of breast-feeding levels, the report said that in 2005 the breastfeeding rate on discharge from hospital was 47.5 per cent. This included 3.7 per cent who were fed using a combination of bottle and breastfeeding.
Although Ireland still compares unfavourably with other EU member states, there has been an increase in breastfeeding rate since 1999, when it was 39 per cent. The percentage of mothers exclusively breastfeeding their infants on discharge from hospital ranged from 54.9 per cent in Dublin to 27.8 per cent in Donegal.
There were marked social class differences, according to the report. A larger percentage of mothers in higher professional groups, 70.9 per cent, breast-fed compared with mothers who were semi-skilled manual workers at 29.8 per cent.
In an international comparison of bullying levels, Ireland was ranked 26th out of 39 countries.
A total of 25.9 per cent of Irish 11, 13 and 15-year-olds reported to having been bullied at school in the last couple of months in 2006.
"Even if we compare well internationally that's still a lot of children who report to having been bullied," Dr Hanafin said. In Ireland, nine-year-old boys reported the highest bullying rates.
In its analysis of children's relationships with their parents, the report found that Irish children appear to be finding it easier to talk to their fathers than children did 10 years ago. "In 1998, only about 58 per cent reported it was easy to talk to their dads," Dr Hanafin said. "It's now up at almost 63 per cent."
The report found that the percentage of Irish children who reported finding it easy to talk with their mother when something was really bothering them (79.5 per cent) was below the international average (81.5 per cent).
A total of 62.9 per cent of Irish children reported finding it easy to talk with their father in similar circumstances. This figure was above the international average of 61.7 per cent.
Dr Hanafin said Irish children were generally happy.
In 2002, the percentage of Irish children who reported having three or more friends of the same gender was the highest of 35 countries studied. However, Irish children had slipped to seventh place among 41 countries by 2006.
