WHAT Is noticeable about the damning Unicef report into child well-being is that in many cases where the UK is ranked as the worst out of 21 countries, the second worst country is the United States.

It seems that where we have succeeded in becoming the richest industrialised nations and, in America's case the most powerful country in the world, we have failed at the most basic task of nurturing our children.

This is manifesting itself in a generation of anxious and fearful children who are overweight and prone to drug and drink binges.

We should hang our heads in shame.

In many cases the roots of the problem can be traced back to the breakdown of the traditional two-parent family and the lack of respect for the family in general.

The liberal 1960s has a lot to answer for, as do the Thatcher years with the emphasis on an individualism which was often read as a licence to selfishness.

The result has been a corrosive mix of a total lack of respect for authority, coupled with a dog eat dog attitude.

People in this country are almost primal in their selfishness.

You only have to drive around any town or city to experience it on our roads. It can be seen in the sheer amount of petty crime and in the lack of respect for people's property.

The desire for instant gratification is obvious in the binge drinking and drugs culture seen on our streets.

A community based on the family unit and moral codes is far more likely to produce happier, more stable young people.

What has to be remembered is that much of this report is based on children's own perceptions and it is a damning indictiment of the way we treat them.

The more children feel alienated the more alienated they will become and the more they will be seen as enemies by older people.

And the result will be an even greater polarisation of our society with even less mixing between the generations.

The answer is not just to throw money at this problem but to rebuild the structures and foundations of stability that will support children, and the elderly for that matter.

A secure foundation and boundaries of behaviour are what children need in order to stop them going off the rails.

We are often suspicious of Muslim culture but it does at least celebrate the family unit and it is built on respect with that respect travelling both ways across the generations.

Anyone wanting to see how British families used to respect each other would do worse than to visit an Arab country.

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