Smacking and best/worst place for children

The irony of a recent UNICEF report is that the two, arguably, most pursued places for work are the two worst places for children to live - among wealthy nations. They're the U.S. and Britain, at 20 and 21 out of 21 nations.

The British government, of course, said that the data used by UNICEF was outdated. Duh!

The study was done in six main areas: (1) relationships, especially with their peers, (2) risky behaviour such as sex, drink and drugs, (3) children's own assessment of their happiness, (4) poverty and inequality, (5) education over the long-term, and (6) health and safety.

Overall rankings of the study is:
1. Netherlands
2. Sweden
3. Denmark
...
19. Hungary
20. United States
21. United Kingdom

When I first met our Iranian neighbor, I wondered why their parents migrated to and now live in Sweden. Now, perhaps this study answers my question.

Almost a third of British youngsters aged 11, 13 and 15 reported being drunk on two or more occasions, against just an average of under 15 percent in the majority of OECD countries.

But I guess this is not a surprise. Nor when the United States ranked 21 for health and safety...

Another article, however, disputes the results as some of these nations, and most notably the Netherlands being on top, have not banned smacking. I don't really have strong opinion on either way - ban or not ban. Because parents have more problems with smack down on TV...