Children in the UK suffer greater deprivation, worse relationships with their parents and are exposed to more risks from alcohol, drugs and unsafe sex than those in any other wealthy country in the world. That was the damning conclusion of a recent Unicef report which ranked the UK bottom of the league of 21 economically advanced countries according to its “report card” on the wellbeing of children and young people…

Strong, well resourced early years services have a pivotal role to play in contributing to the wellbeing of the child, developing healthy lifestyles and building community cohesion. The Nordic countries have yielded vital rewards for children and families by investing directly in the early years. Currently, however, Scotland spends just 0.5 per cent as a percentage of GDP on early education and childcare in the pre-school sector, compared with Norway’s 1.7 per cent…

Source: Edinburgh Evening News
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=1003462007