Children's happiness is on the decline in the UK, with 14 and 15-year-olds rated as the most miserable lot, a new study has found.
The report by The Children's Society UK found that younger teenagers have lower well-being than other age groups. They are less likely to be happy about school, their appearance and the amount of choice and freedom they have.
"The happiness of this country's children is in decline, with teenagers experiencing particularly low well-being," the report said.
Teenagers aged 14 and 15 are particularly affected as they have the lowest life satisfaction of all children. Fourteen to fifteen per cent of this age group were found to have low well-being, compared to just 4 per cent of eight year olds, according to the report.
However, the Society warns that the drop in well-being in the early teens should not be dismissed as a normal and inevitable part of growing up.
The charity, which quizzed more than 42,000 eight to 17 year olds has launched a guide for UK parents full of tips and advice about boosting family well-being.
"The well-being of our future generation in the UK is critical. So it is incredibly worrying that any improvements this country has seen in children's well-being over the last two decades appear to have stalled," Matthew Reed, Chief Executive of The Children's Society, said.
"These startling findings show that we should be paying particular attention to improving the happiness of this country's teenagers.
"These findings clearly show that we can't simply dismiss their low well-being as inevitable 'teen grumpiness'. They are facing very real problems we can all work to solve, such as not feeling safe at home, being exposed to family conflict or being bullied," Reed said.
