According to a recent survey, just over half of the adults in Germany find the country “child-friendly”.

Is Germany safe for children?

According to a study by Sinus, the social research institute in Heidelberg, and YouGov, only 53 percent of Germans think Germany is a good place for kids. The study, which asked 2.200 people about how friendly Germany is for children, was commissioned in time for World Children’s Day this Sunday.

The study revealed that 65 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds consider Germany child-friendly; however, only 49 percent of people aged 60 to 69 agreed. The report also showed that around two-thirds of parents believe Germany didn’t do enough to cater to the needs of children during the current pandemic. The majority of respondents (58 percent) also agreed with this.

The problems children will face

Of the respondents, 73 percent said that there is a need for political action to protect children from sexual abuse, and 72 percent said action needs to be taken to protect children from violence. 68 percent of respondents saw the need for equal opportunities in education, more spaces in childcare, and protection from child poverty, while 57 percent said children’s rights need to be enshrined in the Basic Law.

Many respondents expressed some level of concern for the future of Germany’s children, with 78 percent saying they think the consequences of climate change will affect our children more than it currently does. 64 percent think children will encounter more pandemics in their lifetimes, 56 percent think children will face more problems when searching for a job and less than half said that our children would go on to have a higher standard of living than they currently enjoy.

Only a third of respondents believe that our children will one day live in a fairer society. “So far, the promise has been valid: future generations will be better off than their parents or grandparents. But this promise is shaky in the face of a variety of problems,” said Manfred Tautscher, managing director of the Heidelberg Sinus Institute.