Video games, mobile phones and TV are keeping children up at night, answers to a BBC questionnaire suggest.

Newsround sent a questionnaire to 1,000 children aged between nine and 11 at schools across the UK.

Most said they went to bed at 2130, but a quarter said bedtime was 2200 or later and half said they were not getting enough sleep and wanted more. Health experts have linked a lack of sleep to problems with concentration, behaviour and school work.

About half the children asked said they were staying up to play on computer games or their mobile phones or to watch television. More than half of the children taking part said they had a television in their bedroom. Lewis, who is 10 and from Liverpool, told Newsround he shares his bedroom and there are a lot of distractions at bedtime. “I play on my games. It takes me until 10 o’clock to go to sleep. I am tired in the morning,” he said. For children aged 10, experts recommend at least 10 hours of sleep a night.

Of the children who filled in the questionnaire, 314 out of 1,083 said they went to bed at 2130, 272 said 2100. A total of 277 said they stayed up until 2200 or later. Scientists have linked a lack of sleep with lower energy levels and sleep-deprived children can be irritable or behave badly.

A recent study by academics in Finland suggested a good night’s sleep could reduce hyperactivity and bad behaviour among children. They said adequate sleep could improve behaviour in healthy children and reduce symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Source: BBC Newsline

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

An advertising campaign is being launched to raise awareness of domestic violence in teenage relationships.

The adverts will target boys aged 13 to 18, urging them not to use violence against their girlfriends.

The £2m TV, radio, internet and poster campaign is part of a government strategy announced last year to reduce violence against women and girls.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said it was essential to change attitudes in order to stop abuse against females.

He said: “We want to see young people in safe and happy relationships and this means tackling attitudes towards abuse at an early age, before patterns of violence can occur. “We hope this campaign will help teenagers to recognise the signs of abuse and equip them with the knowledge and confidence to seek help, as well as understanding the consequences of being abusive or controlling in a relationship.”

The campaign follows research by the NSPCC.

The study suggested a quarter of girls aged 13 to 17 had experienced physical violence from a boyfriend and a third had been pressured into sexual acts they did not want.

The children’s charity said it was alarmed by the number of young people who viewed abuse in relationships as normal.

Source: BBC NI News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

A book aimed at helping children with parents who have alcohol or substance problems is being launched.

It is estimated that one in every 11 children of primary school age live with a parent with addiction problems.

The book, called Rory, was compiled by ASCERT, Barnardo’s, the South Eastern Trust and the Public Health Agency.

It tells the story of a dog who cannot understand why his owner is acting in a certain way, until it is explained this is because he has an alcohol problem.

Cathy Mullan, interim lead for Alcohol and Drugs at the Public Health Agency, said the book was an “excellent resource for young children where alcohol is having a negative impact on their lives”. “The plan aims to raise awareness of the impact of drugs and alcohol on families and to increase the range of support services available to them,” she added.

The book is available in all libraries across Northern Ireland.

Source: BBC NI News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

A significant minority of children leave primary school without having their communication difficulties picked up and addressed, a charity claims.

Communication charity Ican said research suggested the problem was most severe in areas of social deprivation.

These youngsters’ communication problems were often picked up later in the youth justice system, Ican said.

The claim comes as a survey suggests 50% of parents believe their children cannot communicate effectively.

The poll of 2,000 parents of children under 11 also found 54% felt they did not have enough time to talk to their children. And one in four of these say they believe this impacted on communication with their child on a daily basis.

The survey suggests the most popular activity shared between parent and child was watching television, but only 1 in 10 felt this was a time when they communicated well with their child.

Source: BBC Education News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

There is a strong link between heavy Internet use and depression, UK psychologists have said.

The study, reported in the journal Psychopathology, found 1.2% of people surveyed were “Internet addicts”, and many of these were depressed.

The Leeds University team stressed they could not say one necessarily caused the other, and that most Internet users did not suffer mental health problems.

The conclusions were based on 1,319 responses to an on-line questionnaire.

Recruitment was via links on social networking sites. People were asked how much they used the Internet and for what purposes.

They were also asked a series of questions to assess whether they suffered from depression.

The respondents were aged 16 to 51, with an average age of 21.

The authors found that a small number of users had developed a compulsive Internet habit, replacing real life social interaction with online chat rooms and social networking sites. They classed 18 respondents – 1.2% of the total – as “Internet addicts”. This group spent proportionately more time on sex, gambling and online community websites.

The Internet addicts were significantly more depressed than the non-addicted group, with a depression score five times higher. The average score of the Internet-addicted group put them in the category of moderate-to-severe levels of depression.

“Our research indicates that excessive Internet use is associated with depression, but what we don’t know is which comes first – are depressed people drawn to the Internet or does the Internet cause depression?” said Dr Morrison. “Now we need to investigate the nature of that relationship and consider the issue of causation.”

Critics of the research say that Internet addiction cannot be diagnosed reliably, and the recruiting method could have resulted in a biased sample.

Sophie Corlett, of the mental health charity Mind, said: “Evidence suggests that active pursuits such as exercise and socialising with people face-to-face are among the factors that help us stay in good mental health. “Although excessive Internet use can’t be said to cause mental health problems, if a web addict is substituting meaningful friendships and socialising with virtual contact on the Internet, this might have an adverse affect on their mental well being.”

Source: BBC Tech News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

Unhappiness in children is more likely to be influenced by conflict in their family than the family’s structure, research suggests.

A study by the Children’s Society says family arguments are more damaging for children than factors such as whether they live with married parents.

This survey of well-being was based on the views of 7,000 children in England aged between 10 and 15.

It found that about 7% of children were “significantly” unhappy.

Among a cohort of 1.8 million children – this would mean there are 140,000 deeply unhappy children in these age groups

The charity wanted to investigate how children experienced unhappiness and happiness – asking them to record their feelings on a scale of 0 to 10.

It found that living in a happy household, where people got along together, was a major positive factor in children’s sense of well-being.

Asked about their level of happiness, a large proportion of children were broadly positive – averaging 7.7 out of 10 – but more children reported feelings of unhappiness as they grew older and entered their teenage years.

Source: BBC Education News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

A scheme to give free laptops to pupils from poor backgrounds is being rolled out to 270,000 families in England.

The £300m Home Access scheme, first announced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2008, has been piloted in two local areas.

It will allow some of the most in need children, those in care and from the poorest homes, to apply for a grant for a free laptop and broadband connection.

It aims to help bridge the achievement gap between rich and poor pupils.

A recent study from the Institute of Fiscal Studies suggested having a laptop at home could lead to a two grade improvement in one subject at GCSE.

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said: “Families who are most in need cannot be left behind in the digital revolution we’re seeing in education. We’re leading the world with the way we use technology in learning and we’ve shown our commitment to this by making ICT the backbone of every lesson in the new primary curriculum. Because of this, it’s absolutely right that we’re investing £300 million so children who need the most support have access to the resources they need at home.”

He also said there were educational, economic and social benefits of being online at home that could not be ignored.

Source: BBC Education

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

Unemployed young people could suffer from “permanent psychological scars” due to being out of work, according to a survey by the Prince’s Trust.

A YouGov poll of more than 2,000 people aged between 16 and 25 showed one in 10 of those who had been out of work had turned to drugs or alcohol abuse.

And those not in education or training were twice as likely to feel down, depressed, isolated or rejected.

Latest figures show almost a million 16-25’s are classed as unemployed.

The Prince’s Trust is calling on the government and businesses to do more to help the younger generation escape unemployment and has launched a new campaign to raise £1m a week to support unemployed and disadvantaged young people.

The Trust said its survey showed that 25% of unemployed young people believed their joblessness had caused arguments with their parents or other relatives, and 15% said their life lacked direction.

Martina Milburn, the charity’s chief executive, said: “The emotional effects on young people are profound, long-term and can become irreversible. We must act now to prevent a lost generation of young people before it is too late.”

Source: BBC Education

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

The number of teenagers killed violently in the UK has fallen by 30% in one year, BBC research has found.

The BBC teen homicide database, which records murder and manslaughter cases, shows fifty one 10 to 19-year olds lost their lives in 2009 compared with 72 in 2008.

Most 2009 victims were male and half of all those killed were stabbed. Twelve were beaten and two were shot.

Police say anti-knife crime tactics explain the drop, but critics argue it is too early to make such conclusions.

The BBC News website’s database shows that of the fifty one young people killed so far this year, the youngest was just 10 years old and the oldest 19. The most common ages of victims were 17 and 18.

Most of the victims were white and male – just nine of the fifty one were girls.

While England saw the vast majority of cases, Scotland had eight, Wales three and Northern Ireland two. Of all cities, London had most deaths – with 13 of its teenage residents losing their lives to violence. However, this is a significant drop from 26 in 2007 and 29 in 2008.

Source: BBC

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that the number of 16 to 24-year-olds now out of work was 952,000 in the three months to October, a quarterly rise of 6,000 and the highest figure since records began in 1992.

Unemployment among 18 to 24-year-olds was 757,000, up by 26,000 from the three months to July, the highest since 1993.

Total unemployment increased by 21,000 to 2.49 million, the highest level since early 1995, although the quarterly rise was the smallest for 18 months.

Other data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the number of people out of work in the latest quarter increased by 49,000 to 620,000, the worst total since 1997.

The UK’s overall unemployment rate has now reached a 13-year high of 7.9 per cent and more than one in five working-age people are now economically inactive.

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth