Survey: Kids In Malaysia Are Very, Very Worried About Being Bullied

As the world celebrates the United Nations Universal Children’s Day today (Monday), it has come to light that many children in Malaysia worry a lot about bullying.

Based on a global survey by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), seven out of 10 children in Malaysia are concerned about this social problem, as reported by Bernama.

This is the highest number compared to only three out of 10 kids in Japan and four out of 10 in the United Kingdom.

Mind you, this survey was conducted among 11,000 boys and girls aged between nine and 18 in 14 different countries.

Besides that, there is also another surprising finding that would make a lot of Malaysians very proud – a good number of Malaysian kids also showed concerned about many global issues!

According to UNICEF, 64 per cent of them are worried about violence against children, whereas 60 per cent are concerned about terrorism.

And that’s not all. Malaysian children also want more world leaders to pay attention to education for the poor (17 per cent), as well as poverty and terrorism (15 per cent).

This basically shows how concerned these children are about how these issues would affect them and their peers.

However, more than half of the children who participated in the survey revealed that they don’t really trust adults and leaders as much as they should.

Hence, UNICEF representative to Malaysia Marianne Clark-Hattingh said that adults should make the effort to listen to the needs of the children and address these issues immediately, as reported by the New Straits Times.

The survey also revealed that the kids felt that the world would be a better place if adults and leaders heard them out. They also felt more appreciated when their families, friends and teachers actually take the time to listen to them.

So, let’s start listening to the voices of our children and give them the chance to engage in global conversations. After all, they truly are the leaders of tomorrow.

Celebrated annually on 20 November, World Children’s Day is the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989.