Around 300,000 children are "significantly" unhappy with their life, according to a new survey by the Children's Society. The research suggests that 7% of youngsters in Britain aged between 10 and 15 are not happy, with family arguments a major source of their misery. It also indicates that children from broken homes can be happier than if their parents stay together. Children are, on average, 20% happier if their families "get along well", regardless of whether they live with a single parent, step-family or both parents, the survey found.

Elaine Hindal, Campaign for Childhood director at The Children's Society, told Sky News Online that how families get along is far more important for young people than the type of family they live in. "Keeping children happy is about the degree of support families provide and when difficulties arise conflict doesn't bubble up and damage them."

The charity interviewed nearly 7,000 children, with the majority rating themselves as happy. But on average two children in every school class claimed to be miserable. The poll, carried out by Ipsos Mori, found that the areas causing the most problems with Britain's youngsters are appearance and confidence. Nearly one fifth of children are unhappy with the way they look and 16% are not happy about their confidence. Other causes of unhappiness include areas in which young people live, levels of choice and freedom, and the schools they attend. The survey suggests that as pupils progress through school, levels of happiness tend to drop. In the last year of primary school the average happiness score on the poll was eight out of ten, with it dropping to 7.4 by age 15.

Elaine Hindal commented that the big difference between girls' and boys' happiness as they get older was highlighted by the survey. She said: "Girls are much less happy with their appearance as they get older, by age 14 or 15, 28% of girls don't like their physical appearance. "This could lead to problems later on in life, society has a responsibility to raise children to have the right values and a sense of self-worth, rather than be concerned about what they have or how they look."

(As reported on Sky News Online)