BULLYING IS prevalent among nine-year-olds growing up in Ireland but children of this age still have a largely positive view of their lives, according to new research.
The report, which involved in-depth studies of 120 nine-year-olds and their families, found some children had troubled attitudes to food and to their own weight.
Parental separation had a considerable impact on children’s routines, making it difficult for children to sustain a relationship with a non-resident parent, the study found, and some children worried about moving to secondary school. Others were concerned about the future, including climate change and war.
The study, Growing Up in Ireland – The National Longitudinal Study of Children, was launched by Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald yesterday.
The majority of respondents ranked their life quite high on a life satisfaction ladder, a measure of contentment, with an average score of just over eight out of 10. More than half of the children gave a score of nine or higher regarding their life satisfaction.
Friendships played an important role in lives of the nine-year-olds, the report found.
Children openly discussed bullying with interviewers. They said individual differences, including body size, ethnicity and appearance, could lead to a child being bullied. It was described as “a horrible thing” which made victims “very sad” or “scared and worried”. They described physical, verbal, exclusion and electronic bullying. “Bullying is a prevalent issue in the lives of children,” the report found.
Almost three-quarters of the children who took part in the survey were living with two parents in the family home and almost a third lived with their mothers. None of the 120 lived in a household with a lone father at the head. Nineteen children had experienced parental separation.
The children lived in 21 of the 26 counties, with 55 per cent from rural and 45 per cent from urban backgrounds. Those who participated in the study were part of a larger group of 8,500 whose lives are being tracked for the longitudinal study. Overall, the children appeared to have very positive relationships with their parents, the report found.
Most children who had non-resident fathers spoke positively about their relationship, but in a small number of cases, the children suggested their relationship with their non-resident father was strained and most expressed a wish to see their fathers more often.
The report also found children felt less close to parents who worked long hours and were less available. Some participants said they believed adults thought children were annoying, especially if they were too loud.
The study said children’s ambitions were to be healthy, to get a good job and to stay close to friends and family.
A majority of boys wanted to be professional sports players while most girls wanted to be professional performers, typically singers, dancers or actors.
Both sexes aspired to being doctors, lawyers and gardaí, but only boys wanted to be farmers and chefs, while only girls wanted to be hairdressers or nurses. The children also expressed concerns about moving to secondary school, including making new friends and dealing with peer pressure.
In terms of their own physical appearance, many children wanted to be taller, although height was not the only physical trait that some wanted to change. Other attributes such as freckles, lack of strength, skin, teeth, having short hair and wearing glasses emerged as factors that could make children self-conscious.
More boys took part in sports than girls, while both groups recognised diet and exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. Some girls were conscious of issues such as anorexia. None of the children aspired to be smokers when they grew up, but thought they might drink in moderation.
Prof Sheila Greene, co-director of Growing Up in Ireland, said we needed to question why girls seemed much less interested in sport even at an early age. She also said the research showed the value of family and extended family.
What They Said
On bullying . . .
They were being mean to me and I felt like crying, but I didn't because it is a bit embarrassing as well
If I was looking at something they would think I was looking at them and they would say "What are you looking at?" - or else they would be kicking me
On separated parents . . .
My Dad and Mum split up and I only get to see him once a month . . . I would love to see him every day. Most of the time I feel upset because he is not here
On happiness . . .
I have loads of friends and I can go to their houses and play and school is fun and it's easy and I have fun on my toys and all that
On appearance . . .
Sometimes I don't like being small for my age because lots of people say you are too small for this and too small for that
I would like to take away my freckles . . . they get all over my face and it gets annoying
