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New study asks what kids really want

October 19, 2005

Child drawing on pavementForget lollies, money and videogames. All kids really want is for mum and dad to be happy and to spend time with their friends. A new study at The University of New England has found that young children are far less materialistic—and much more positive about the future—than was previously thought.

Jonathon Sargeant, a lecturer in special education and behaviour management at UNE, asked more than 500 primary school students aged eight to twelve what worried them and what they needed to be happy. He found that kisses and cuddles were much more important to most children than Game Cubes or watching TV. By far the most common response to the question “What do you need to be happy?” was family and friends, with pets a close runner-up.

He also found that while young children are aware of issues such as terrorism and global warming, they are a lot more worried about the safety and happiness of those closest to them. That their parents would divorce worried many children. Other common fears included bushfires and dangerous animals, such as snakes and spiders.

The children's focus on home and school life did not reflect an ignorance of world events, however, Mr Sargeant said. When he asked the children what one thing they would change about the world if they could, most gave the environment, war and terrorism as their top concerns.

“If I could change one thing about the world it would be no fighting in the world or pollution,” wrote one ten-year-old boy.

“I would like to change the Bali bombings and killing, it is horrible. I would like to save animals and people's lives,” wrote a nine-year-old girl.

Mr Sargeant has proposed the concept of an “importance filter” to describe the way children process and prioritise information about the world.

“Children have no real power over the world,” Mr Sargeant said. “They can't go out and earn more money for mum and dad. They can't solve global warming or stop international terrorism. So they tend to focus on things they have control over, things they can do something about. If they don't have some mechanism to filter out the stuff they have no control over, we will have a lot more stressed kids.”

Adults could sometimes interfere with children's importance filters by placing too much emphasis on an issue a child had already dealt with, Mr Sargeant said.

“Sometimes by talking an issue up you can create worry instead of relieving it,” he said.

For more information contact Jonathon Sargeant on (02) 6773 3831 or Leon Braun (UNE Public Relations) on (02) 6773 3771. A photograph is available to accompany this story.

Posted by Leon Braun at October 19, 2005 03:38 PM