The recent Prince’s Trust Macquarie Youth Index released this month (January 17) provides some interesting, if not concerning facts. Indicating that young people’s wellbeing is at its lowest level since the Index was first commissioned. For me, a statistic I felt struck a chord was that out of a survey of more than 2000 young people aged 16-25, 1-10 claimed they did not know anyone who really cares about them! When I deliver sessions to staff working with young people and families and to parents I reinforce the need to connect with the young person, and in general I get the sense that there is a genuine willingness and drive to exactly that. So I get disappointed when I read statistics like this, and even more so when I hear similar about children of primary school age.
I would be interested to know what is going on out there, to guide and support young people to have (positive) meaningful relationships. Understanding that these types of relationships could last them a lifetime, and reassure them that someone “does” actually care.
