Children becoming increasingly unhappy

A third of youngsters (33 per cent) say they do not feel happy about life at the moment, compared with just over three in 10 (31 per cent) in 2009, according to statistics published yesterday by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).

And while 92 per cent say they have one or more good friend, this has fallen slightly from 95 per cent a year ago.

The TellUs4 survey questioned almost 254,000 schoolchildren aged between 10 and 15 about various aspects of their lives.

The survey also found that falling numbers of youngsters feel supported. Some 64 per cent said that if they are worried they can talk to a parent, down from 66 per cent last year.

Two thirds (66 per cent) said they can talk to a friend, down from seven in 10 (71 per cent), and four in 10 (40 per cent) said if they were worried they could talk to another adult, a drop from more than half (52 per cent) in 2009.

The survey responses were later analysed and split into different categories to give each local authority scores for five different measures, – the emotional health and wellbeing of children (happiness and support), bullying, participation in "positive" activities, such as sport, substance misuse and satisfaction with parks and play areas.

The overall results show that children in the North West were the happiest, with 58.6 per cent saying they felt happy and supported, while children in London were the unhappiest and least supported (53.2 per cent).