Findings and Conclusions on Well-Being from the Unique Vantage Point of Children

Abstract

This chapter presents some conclusions on the nature of child well-being, derived from considering, in totality, the implications of the standpoint on child well-being as aggregated from the findings conveyed in the individual chapters in this book. We identify the significance of constructing a child standpoint on well-being from qualitative research where a structural analysis is applied. We summarise the child standpoint arrived at—in terms of the overwhelming importance of sociality and meaning in life, for child well-being—the way children’s experiences of well-being stand in tension with the emphasis on child well-becoming and the way this tension reflects the generational structuring of adult–child relations. The significance in this context of intragenerational relations for children is identified. Our analysis illustrates that inter- and intragenerational relationships are characterised by potentials for both well-being and oppression (or ill-being) of children. In drawing out the policy implications of our construction of child well-being, we comment on the importance of cultural, economic, social and historical considerations. We end the book with the concretisation of policy implications in a set of ‘Indicator Concepts’ that can provide guidance for developing more specific and concrete indicators.