My Cat Makes Me Happy What Children and Youth Say about Measuring their Well-being
Author: UNICEF Canada and Students Commission of Canada
Date: 2017
Abstract: In UNICEF’s Index of Child Well-being, young people in Canada rated their well-being and happiness low in relation to children and youth in other affluent nations, yielding a rank of 24 of 29 countries for children’s self-reported life satisfaction (UNICEF Office of Research, 2013). The reasons for Canada’s ranking appear to be linked to lower performance in child health indicators, difficult relationships with peers and others in their lives, and poverty and inequity. However, there is much we do not understand behind this barometer of children’s sense of well-being – much we lack data to measure and act upon. One of the best ways to understand it is to ask children and youth. Existing surveys and indicators of child and youth well-being have been developed largely without the benefit of young people’s perspectives on what they believe is important to track and address. UNICEF Canada is exploring approaches to better measure, monitor and understand child and youth well-being in Canada. This process began in 2014 with listening to young people, leading to the recognition that the indicators and data we rely on as governments, organizations and societies to make decisions affecting their lives leave out important aspects that should be considered. We reviewed reports to see what young people had to say about their well-being. Then we engaged young people to identify additional domains, themes, and indicators to contribute to the development of the Canadian Index for Child and Youth Well-being. This report represents the views of more than 25,000 young people in Canada and outlines the process and results.
Tags: Canada, Children & families, Criteria for Indicator Selection, Education, Equity, Health, Poverty, Quality of life, Subjective wellbeing, Wellbeing, Youth,
Full Citation Journal: UNICEF Canada and Students Commission of Canada (2017). My Cat Makes Me Happy: What chil-dren and youth say about measuring their well-being. Toronto, ON: UNICEF Canada.
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Date: 2017
Abstract: In UNICEF’s Index of Child Well-being, young people in Canada rated their well-being and happiness low in relation to children and youth in other affluent nations, yielding a rank of 24 of 29 countries for children’s self-reported life satisfaction (UNICEF Office of Research, 2013). The reasons for Canada’s ranking appear to be linked to lower performance in child health indicators, difficult relationships with peers and others in their lives, and poverty and inequity. However, there is much we do not understand behind this barometer of children’s sense of well-being – much we lack data to measure and act upon. One of the best ways to understand it is to ask children and youth. Existing surveys and indicators of child and youth well-being have been developed largely without the benefit of young people’s perspectives on what they believe is important to track and address. UNICEF Canada is exploring approaches to better measure, monitor and understand child and youth well-being in Canada. This process began in 2014 with listening to young people, leading to the recognition that the indicators and data we rely on as governments, organizations and societies to make decisions affecting their lives leave out important aspects that should be considered. We reviewed reports to see what young people had to say about their well-being. Then we engaged young people to identify additional domains, themes, and indicators to contribute to the development of the Canadian Index for Child and Youth Well-being. This report represents the views of more than 25,000 young people in Canada and outlines the process and results.
Tags: Canada, Children & families, Criteria for Indicator Selection, Education, Equity, Health, Poverty, Quality of life, Subjective wellbeing, Wellbeing, Youth,
Full Citation Journal: UNICEF Canada and Students Commission of Canada (2017). My Cat Makes Me Happy: What chil-dren and youth say about measuring their well-being. Toronto, ON: UNICEF Canada.
DOWNLOAD