Lets look at what makes kids the most upset...

1: Fear of the end of the World... when I was young, it was nuclear holocaust that was going to kell us all. Now it's the global warming boogie-man that gives innocent children nightmares.

2: Broken families and fatherlessness. Children all love BOTH their parents, and crave the missing one. Children who don't live with BOTH NATURAL parents are statistically 2,600 per cent more likely to be victims of abuse/neglect than those with both natural parents. There are too many children growing up at risk without their dads, and too many incentives towards divorce and single-motherhood.

3: No future, growing up in a home where nobody works. No hope, no happiness. Yet our welfare system encourages single motherhood, and too often that results in single welfare-dependant (non-working) mother, an no other worker in the home.

What causes these problems? The leftie/greenie/feminist/socialist/ politically correct brigade. With their good intentions which are sadly destroying our children's futures and happiness.

*The author failed to consider the growing inequality in Australia, as a root cause of childhood unhappiness*

I don't think so, Diver Dan. Your statement might reflect more on
your personsal problem and perspective of envy. At school we had
some seriously rich and spoiled kids. Yes we would have liked what
they had, but not having it, did not make us unhappy.

My dad died when I was about 10. Not having a father, did not make
me unhappy either, but certainly taught me about how to deal with
adversity.

1. I think that there is a genetic component to happiness. It comes
back to feedback loops and homeostasis, in terms of brain chemistry.
I've known people who all their lives are relatively content with life,
others who are always miserable, no matter what their circumstances, rich or poor.

2. I think that happiness is relative. If you've done it tough as
a kid, suffered adversity etc, you far more appreciate what you have
and your situation, when things are good. Unlike spoiled little rich
kids, who think that adversity means not having a mobile phone.

3. Lets not overlook drug induced unhappiness. Fact is that drugs
like Eckys fiddle with serotonin levels. Eckys are commonly used
amongst youth, at rave parties etc. They do in fact produce a
short term high, as serotonin levels soar. But the brain responds
though feedback loops and as serotinin levels invariably crash as
a result, kids are miserable and want to top themselves.

If we benchmark Australia, what we can ascertain is that Australia's
youth certainly has equality of opportunity. Its up to them to grab
their chances and make them happen, for they are greater then ever
before. Those who grew up expecting life on a plate, will no doubt
be unhappy that their expectations were not met and blame everyone
but themselves for their situation

@Yabby, if your mother had also died that wouldn't have made you unhappy either. Just imagine that would have had the benefit of doubling the lesson in teaching you to deal with adversity.

Humphrey B. Flaubert<" You don't need religion to be happy - if you do, then I feel sorry for you. Your life must be very empty indeed if you need to fill it with imaginary friends to make it enjoyable."

Lol Humphrey. I like your sense of humour :)

After reading this article, I didn't think it was discussing Godless, 'fatherless' households or nasty feminists, or single mothers at all.

So why get into that old discussion again Runner, Renee, Roscop and PTP?
Why not preach about those subjects on your own thread instead of hijacking this thread?

The author asks the question <
"So, is Australia being good to its kids by continuing to allow advertisers and marketers fairly free access to them, and turning a blind eye to the consequences?"

I think we have given too much leeway to advertisers who make inappropriate children's clothing, make junk food too attractive, and encourage violent electronic media usage.
Children should be encouraged to be children as long as possible, while still being readied to live in our modern, increasingly electronic world.

Suseonline,

"I think we have given too much leeway to advertisers who make inappropriate children's clothing, make junk food too attractive, and encourage violent electronic media usage."

Maybe we have, but in this case the buck doesn't stop with the advertisers: it stops with the parents. They can't shield their offspring from exposure to advertisements, but last time I checked they still control the purse strings, at least until such time as said offspring are old enough to find gainful employment (and child labour has been out of fashion for a while now). If inappropriate clothing, junk food and violent electronic media are as bad as they're cracked up to be (and incidentally, I have some doubts about that), then surely the problem is not that children aren't savvy consumers; but that their parents aren't savvy enough not to buy them crap which is bad for them.

"Children should be encouraged to be children as long as possible"

In my experience of children, and my memories from my own childhood, kids are right greedy little sods. Unless you subscribe to some romantic notion of children as wide-eyed cherubs full of wonder and innocence, I don't see how convincing them that they need the latest toy/ridiculously unhealthy processed snackfood/whatever amounts to robbing them of their childhood - it doesn't take much convincing, because they're such willing participants in the procedure.

Suseonline - "After reading this article, I didn't think it was discussing Godless, 'fatherless' households or nasty feminists, or single mothers at all." Oh really! You can't take things in isolation if you want an honest examination of the issues. Do you know of any studies of childhood obesity in single parent households as compared with children in intact families and similarly with childhood television viewing habits?