The majority of Irish children are happy, though an Irish childhood is tougher for Traveller and foreign children as well as those with disabilities, the latest State of the Nation’s Children Report shows.
Publishing the report yesterday, Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald said it pointed to the need for a greater focus on vulnerable children and further investment in early-childhood services.
This is the fourth biennial study tracking the wellbeing of the State’s 1.1 million 0-17-year-olds across a variety of indicators including physical and emotional health, education and relationships.
Of the total child population, 14,245 (1.2 per cent) are Travellers, 93,005 (8.3 per cent) are foreign nationals, 66,437 (5.8 per cent) have a disability, 202,444 (18.3 per cent) live in lone-parent households and 421,568 (36.7 per cent) live in families where the mother has a third-level degree or higher.
Compared with 1998 figures, more children in this report said they found it easy to talk to their parents when something was really bothering them.
Some 82 per cent said they could talk to their mothers, compared with 74 per cent in 1998, while 67 per cent could talk to their fathers, compared with 48 per cent.
However, children with disabilities (79 per cent) and older children, aged 15-17 (76.5 per cent) were less likely to find it easy to talk to their mothers.
Food for thought
There has been a “significant decrease” in the percentage of 15-year-olds who eat a main meal with their parents several times a week, down from 77 per cent in 2000 to 72 per cent in 2009. Traveller (62 per cent) and poorer (66.9 per cent) children were less likely to eat a meal often with parents.
Almost 90 per cent of 10-17-year-olds reported having three or more friends, though this was less likely among Traveller and immigrant (both 84 per cent) children. These two groups, as well as children with disabilities, are “significantly more likely to report being bullied at school”. While 24 per cent of all 10-17-year-olds reported being bullied in the last two months, 32 per cent of Traveller children did, as did 29 per cent both of immigrant and disabled children.
Bullied younger
There was also more bullying reported by younger children – 38 per cent of nine-year-olds had been bullied in the last two months, 30 per cent of 10-11-year-olds; 25 per cent of 12-14- and 21 per cent of 15-17-year-olds.
Almost 12 per cent of primary school and 18 per cent of secondary school children missed more than 20 days of school in the 2009/10 school year.
Absenteeism at primary level was twice as high (15 per cent) in urban areas as rural (8 per cent). At both primary and secondary levels it was up to twice as high in the most deprived areas: it was up to 24 per cent in Deis (targeted for extra financial supports) primary schools.
Describing the absenteeism figures as “very serious”, Ms Fitzgerald said non-attendance was often a first indicator a child was “in trouble” and in need of “intervention”.
“The figures here do strengthen the need for a sharper focus in Ireland on early intervention and . . . services with a view to improving future outcomes and future prospects.
“It does allow a greater focus on more vulnerable groups of children, including Traveller children, immigrant children and children with a disability and chronic illness. There is a real social and economic imperative to focus on this research and take action,” she said.
