Children are held in higher esteem than teenagers, a study carried out for the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) has revealed.

A survey of citizens of all ages found that teenagers are on everyone’s B list and the older children become the more disliked they feel, according to the paper Is England Child-Friendly Enough?

The study found that as children grow up they feel less welcome in public places and are less likely to believe that most adults are friendly.

Adults’ views echo these sentiments. Of those surveyed 53 per cent think that England is a friendly place for children while only 36 per cent believe the same is true for teenagers. Over a quarter believe the country is unfriendly towards teenagers.

Overall the findings suggest England has become more child-friendly in recent years.

Just about all government departments and public organisations acknowledge the value of involving children in decision-making, says a fact sheet on the research.

The recent creation of a minister for children and the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are further proof of a change in emphasis, it adds.

But not everyone is convinced. One in three adults interviewed said they agreed with the view that the English love their dogs more than their children

Overall, respondents felt England to be as child-friendly or slightly less so than other countries. Parents though were less enthusiastic. More than half of all mothers with children up to 19 said England was less child-friendly than other nations.

The full research on attitudes towards children and young people will appear in the report Children These Days to be published in 2004.

- Dr Nicola Madge, Is England Child-Friendly Enough, fact sheet from www.ncb.org.uk/resources/child_friendly_factsheet.pdf