What has a good childhood to do with the current expenses scandal? Quite a lot, actually. The main reason why our children are demonstrably less happy is the excessive individualism in our society. Because of it, many children feel that their main job in life is to do better than other people – in exams, in looks, in dress, in love and in the number of friends they have.
Life seen in that way means one person's success is another person's failure. Our best hope of changing all this is in schools, who have got to concentrate on developing character as much as developing competence. Many schools do, but all schools need an explicit set of moral values – a moral vocabulary agreed between teachers, parents and children.
The biggest change is needed in secondary schools, which are excessively exam-oriented and where the teaching of life skills is often amateur. There is no conflict between developing emotional literacy and academic performance. In fact, schemes such as the resilience programme now being used in some of our schools improve academic performance as well as the enjoyment of life. A mind at peace is a vital prerequisite for learning.
When we presented the Good Childhood report at Hay today, I was asked whether MPs could benefit from programmes in life skills. Why not? But more important is their basic attitude to inequality. Excessive individualism has made our whole national elite too tolerant of inequality. For two years, a huge poster in the department of education's building read "Staying ahead". If that is what life is about it, is not surprising that we idolise those who have gone further. Until recently, and perhaps even still, it was the financiers at the receiving end of that aspiration.
When bankers earn so much, it is not surprising that some politicians catch the same disease – they think: "Why? Shouldn't I too do a bit better?"
We have got to escape from the worship of success. Research confirms that at the psychological level, giving leads to more satisfaction than getting. Too many young people get their satisfaction from excessive food, alcohol, drugs or sex. But they will not stop doing this unless they are offered something else more satisfying. Why should they? Research shows that healthy living programmes have less effect on health behaviour than programmes to promote positive living. We all need our own such programme, and afterwards we will be surprised at what we can do without – be it duck islands or parliamentary seats.
