Latest news with #childwellbeing
Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Khaleej Times
UAE billionaire calls for less 'draining' school schedules; parents voice support
An online post by a prominent UAE businessman is garnering attention online, sparking conversations among UAE parents about the current school schedule and the draining effect it has on children. In a tweet, Emirati businessman Khalaf Al Habtoor, Chairman of Al Habtoor Group, wrote, 'Our children are trusted in our care. I see them every morning boarding buses as early as 6am, spending their entire day on the road between school and home. This is too much for students of all ages — especially the little ones. It's too much for a small heart that wants to learn, not suffer.' His post received an overwhelming response from parents, who expressed their frustration and shared how the current school schedule drains their children's energy from the moment they wake up until bedtime. Khaleej Times spoke to several Emirati mothers who shared their personal experiences. Umm Maha, an Emirati mother of an eight-year-old third grader studying at Zayed Al Barsha Complex, said, 'My daughter wakes up at 5.30am. She leaves the house at 6.15am and returns after 2pm. When she gets back, she's exhausted, so I let her nap before she can study again. 'Even with the nap, she wakes up tired and has only about three hours to do her homework and have dinner,' she added. 'Things are slightly better now,' she continued. 'Since September 2024, the school day ends earlier at 1.35pm, so she returns home around 2.30pm instead of 3.30pm.' Al Habtoor has called on Dubai's education authorities and the Federal Ministry of Education to consider this issue seriously. He suggested that every residential area should have a nearby school or nursery. However, even when schools are located within residential areas, students still wake up early and return home late, leaving them with little time for activities or studying. Umm Saif, an Emirati mother living in Al Suyoh, Sharjah, said the school day robs families of quality time together. 'My children are 8, 10, 14, and 15. They all attend the same school — Zayed Al Suyoh Complex — but each returns home at a different time. 'They leave at 6am as boys and girls are separated in different buses. There's no time left to sit as a family as they must review schoolwork. Time passes so quickly. As soon as they finish their homework, it's dinner time, and then they go to bed,' she explained. She added, 'My kids don't attend school on Fridays. I prefer they rest and regain their energy to attend Friday prayers with full focus.' UAE-based families are suggesting that the long school hours are draining children's energy, health, and family life. Parents are calling for real solutions, prioritising children's wellbeing and restoring balance between learning and living. Mona Al Jallaf, an Emirati mother based in Dubai, shared a similar experience. 'My kids wake up at 6am and leave the house by 6.40am to reach school by 7.20am. They finish school at 2.30pm and arrive home around 3.10 pm. By then, they're already exhausted. My youngest daughter, who's in kindergarten, usually falls asleep in the car and doesn't wake up even for lunch. The boys come home tired, with no appetite and no focus to study.'
The National
4 days ago
- Health
- The National
Abu Dhabi's new index to support well-being of children in emirate
Abu Dhabi Childhood Authority (ECA) has launched a system that collates data from different aspects of children's lives and can flag up if there is a need to intervene for the child's well-being. The system, which applies to all children in Abu Dhabi up to the age of 18, has been introduced to answer the question: how do we know if a child is thriving? The index will work by collating information from health organisations, education bodies and social services. Cross-referencing this data will allow the ECA to identify any problems affecting a child's well-being and their performance in other aspects of their life. Who will benefit The index will act as a guide for decision-making on everything from children's education, health, culture and emotional well-being, said another senior figure involved with the project. It will ensure that policies affecting children are grounded in evidence and real-world impact, and that progress can be measured over time, said Laila Al Hassan, director of outreach and partnerships with the ECA. She gave obesity as a clear example of where better data was urgently needed. "With this index, we can track if our efforts, from policy to urban planning, are actually working," she said. "And if they're not, we'll know we need to shift direction.' She shared two recent cases that illustrate how cross-sectoral data can change lives – names have been changed for confidentiality. 'Farah is 11. Every morning she watched her neighbours head to school while she stayed home, because her mother couldn't drop her off until late. She was caring for Farah's ill grandmother. It wasn't that Farah didn't want to go, she simply couldn't," said Ms Al Hassan. The family were flagged to authorities with evidence of a pattern of chronic absenteeism, which triggered an intervention. "The Social Support Authority arranged home care for the grandmother, and suddenly Farah could attend school like everyone else. Her attendance improved, her learning improved, and her whole future shifted.' Another case, she said, involved a six-year-old girl named Ayesha. 'She was an average student with frequent absences. She also had multiple hospital visits for injuries. Alone, each incident might seem unremarkable. Children fall. Families go through divorce. But together, the data painted a very different picture,' said Ms Al Hassan. 'Because we're now looking at children's lives holistically, connecting health, education, family and social support, Ayesha didn't fall through the cracks. She was flagged as high-risk and received the attention she needed. 'These stories aren't exceptions. They're examples of what's possible when government entities share data, collaborate across sectors and follow through. It's not just about collecting numbers. It's about translating insight into real help, at the right time.' Focus on wellbeing "Over the past three years, the ECA has convened with global leaders and UAE policymakers to discuss data-driven insights on child well-being," said Yousef Al Hammadi, ECA executive director of knowledge and impact. 'Children's well-being involves us all – caregivers, parents, teachers, clinicians, and society as a whole. There is already a wealth of data on children's education, cognitive and social development, early detection of developmental challenges, health care, mental and physical well-being, family cohesion, and financial stability. Our goal is to analyse these aspects holistically, identifying challenges and opportunities with the support of our partners." To achieve this, the ECA is working closely with organisations across different sectors, including the Ministry of Education, Abu Dhabi Department of Health (DoH), Department of Government Enablement (DGE), Department of Community Development (DCD), and others. Initial research showed there was no unified definition of a 'thriving child', according to the organisation. There are multiples phases to the index the first of which involves defining the framework and key indicators and is expected to be completed soon. The preliminary analysis is expected to be ready by the end of the year, while the final version of the index is expected to take up to two years. Global research The ECA is working with international partners from Australia, Europe and the US to ensure the project is in line with with global standards, while still being tailored to the UAE's specific needs. The UAE has already taken several measures to ensure the physical and mental well-being of children. Earlier this year The National reported how the UAE's first digital detox clinic for children had opened in Abu Dhabi offering a programme to address the growing problem of screen addiction in young people. The challenges facing those tasked with looking after the physical well-being of children were highlighted in a recent report by the medical journal The Lancet, which stated that one in three teenagers in the Middle East is expected to be obese by 2030. 'One of our major priorities is understanding what it means for a child to thrive. We have identified the characteristics of an 'aspirational child' – one who reaches their full potential in a safe and supportive environment," said Mr Al Hammadi. 'This project will not only help policymakers but also provide valuable insights for parents and caregivers. The goal is to ensure that every child in the UAE has the opportunity to thrive in an environment that nurtures their development,' he said.
RNZ News
22-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Misleading figures on New Zealand youth suicide rates
Photo: Unsplash / Traveler Geek Last week, a UNICEF report grabbed headlines with claims that our youth suicide rate was three times higher than the international average for high-income countries. Two researchers from the University of Auckland, who are experts in youth mental health, say that figure is wrong. The global charity's report on child wellbeing came out last Wednesday, with New Zealand ranking the lowest of 36 countries for mental wellbeing. The graph attracting the most attention was the one on youth suicide rates, in which New Zealand outranked all other countries, with a rate of 17.1 per 100,000 15-to-19-year-olds. "This is our whole world, this research, so we know what the data looks like for New Zealand," associate professor Sarah Hetrick told The Detail . "We just knew when we saw it that it wasn't correct." The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice collectively supply figures on suicide. In New Zealand, the coroner must determine whether a death was by suicide, before it can be recorded as confirmed. That's why the suicide web data tool displays both confirmed and suspected figures. Associate professor Sarah Fortune, who is the director for population mental health at University of Auckland, explained the difference. "The first one is called confirmed deaths, so that tells us that the circumstances of that person's death have been reviewed by the coroner and have been recorded as being a suicide death," she said. "Then we have suspected cases, which indicates that that situation is still open to the coroner." The UNICEF Report Card 19 analysed trends in youth suicide using only data on confirmed suicide rates. Because countries have different processes and timeframes around releasing this data, UNICEF calculated each country's average based on the figures from the three most recent years available. For New Zealand, that meant data from 2018-20 was used and about a third of the other countries were the same, but we did have more recent suspected suicide rates. That data said in the financial year of 2021/22, the rate was 12.3. The most recent figures from 2023/24 showed the rate dropped to 11.8. While suspected and confirmed rates weren't comparable, Hetrick said the confirmed rates did tend to follow the trend set out by the suspected rates. Averaging out figures to 'smooth fluctuations' isn't uncommon, so the figures in the report weren't necessarily wrong - but they did contradict the declining rate of suspected suicides during that period. UNICEF Aotearoa's Tania Sawicki Mead said the report wasn't attempting to make things look worse than they were. "In order to make a useful comparison between countries, the report uses like-for-like data in order to make sure that there is a genuinely useful comparator about how countries are doing over that timeframe," she said. "We are really keen to understand what the long-term trends are for youth suicide to understand if what we are doing is working." Hetrick worried this report promoted headlines and discussion about declining youth wellbeing that contributed to the hopeless narrative, which wasn't helpful for youth who were struggling. "The risk is that young people particularly will hear wellbeing's not going so great and suicide's going up, and pairing those two things together, as though somehow suicide is an inevitable consequence of poor wellbeing, is a very dangerous message." Another issue Hetrick immediately had with the report was that suicide was one of only two indicators used to measure mental wellbeing. "We would very strongly say that, while mental health can be a contributor, that the two things are not equivalent. There are many, many, many more things about a young person's life and the environment in which they live that impacts on wellbeing." Hetrick said other data, like that in the Youth2000 series, looked at several different indicators that contributed to youth wellbeing, some of which showed things were improving. "For sure, some things are not as good as they were, but some things have improved, so I think there was a fundamental problem even with using suicide data as one of only two indicators of youth wellbeing." Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
CTV News
18-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
CTV National News: Canada earns low score on UNICEF's report card for child well-being
Watch According to UNICEF's report card on child well-being Canada barely earns a passing grade. Kamil Karamali explains.
RNZ News
15-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
'More needs to be done' to reverse dire well-being ranking
Minister for Social Development and Employment Louise Upston says the government is committed to doing the work needed to improve the lives of rangatahi. Photo: 123RF Warning: This story discusses suicide. Newly released ranking from UNICEF revealed New Zealand is one of the worst for rangatahi mental health and wellbeing, timely with Budget day 2025. The latest UNICEF Innocenti Report Card 19: Fragile Gains - Child Wellbeing at Risk in an Unpredictable World ranked New Zealand 32nd out of 36 countries for overall child wellbeing. It ranked Aotearoa last place for child and youth mental health. The report card - published a week before Budget day - is a reflection of "systems are valuing the wrong things", Wellbeing Economy Alliance director Gareth Hughes noted. "This ranking should be a wake-up call for all of our elected representatives, but we also need to remember these aren't just rankings, these are real people. "They're reflective of the values that we're expressing collectively. These aren't automatic outcomes, these are the result of policy choices and we can make better policy choices." Hughes hoped the budget would place an emphasis on child wellbeing. "We all hear in our day-to-day lives that young people are struggling. "They struggle when they compare themselves to their parents' generations and some of the opportunities they might've had, but also they're struggling with bullying." Wellbeing Economy Alliance director Gareth Hughes. Photo: ©VNP / Phil Smith Report card 19 revealed that before Covid, Aotearoa youth suicide rate was the second highest in the world, now, after Covid it is the highest. "We've known for many years about our dire youth suicide statistics, and this report is just another reminder for too many young people - we're seeing them take a terrible action as a result of the despair they're seeing in their lives." Alongside the ranking, the number of children living in poverty grew from 144,100 in 2023 to 156,600, according to StatsNZ. Hughes said those statistics were worsening in Aotearoa. "It's even higher rates for Māori, Pasifika, and disabled Kiwis. We need to make sure that we're living our values, which is, I believe, we're a country that wants to see every young person with great opportunities and a chance at success. "We need to look at the wider systemic causes - why young people are struggling in modern Aotearoa?" Chief Children's Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad said the rankings showed investment in children and young people was urgently needed to support child and youth mental health, including suicide prevention measures, and to better support the prevention of bullying in schools and communities. "This is necessary to deliver on the government's own Child and Youth Strategy to make New Zealand the best place in the world to be a child," she said. "It's devastating that among other high-income countries, we reported the highest youth suicide rate. We also know that attempted suicide rates for rangatahi Māori, Rainbow children and young people and disabled children are higher." Minister for Social Development and Employment Louise Upston. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker Minister for Social Development and Employment Louise Upston recognised more work needed to be done to improve the lives of rangatahi, which she said, the government was committed to doing. "The Child and Youth Strategy sets out our plan to improve the lives of young Kiwis by creating social and economic prosperity - something that will benefit New Zealand's current and future generations. "Our strategy aligns with many of the recommendations made by Innocenti such as those focused on improving child mental and physical health, and ensuring young New Zealanders are well supported to achieve core proficiencies in reading, writing and maths." It was pointed out to RNZ by the ministers office that New Zealand ranked 35th in September 2020, which is the next most recent Innocenti report. "We are committed to giving New Zealanders more opportunities to get ahead, including investing in children and young people to ensure they experience a good life." If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
