Children talk about fears for life in the future

Young people are worried about the future, with concerns ranging from rising costs to climate change and the impact of new technology, a school study has found.

Year 7 students at Nova Hreod Academy in Swindon shared their views after comparing their own expectations with predictions made by children in the 1960s.

"We are going to have to prepare for a lot of bad stuff," said Navaj, aged 12. He also suggested "we might have to start living underwater".

Child psychotherapist and researcher at the University of Bath, Caroline Hickman said: "We are raising a whole generation of children and young people who perceive the future to be frightening."

Students spoke about pressures closer to home as well as global issues, using critical thinking to compare their concerns to those of former pupils imagining life in the year 2000.

The exercise for this cohort was to try to picture what the world would be like in 2070.

Millie, 12, said: "Prices are going up in the shops and everything is getting very expensive," while others raised fears about animal extinction, artificial intelligence replacing jobs and the long-term effects of climate change.

Navaj added that there might even be "walking microwaves, floating phones and flying cars" in 2070..

Their concerns reflect wider anxieties among young people, according to Hickman.

In 2021 she published a study which asked 10,000 children across the world how they felt about climate change.

She found that: "Emotionally, children are very, very worried [about climate change] but they're not just worried, they're also sad."

More than half of UK children (51 per cent) surveyed said they believed humanity was "doomed".

Hickman said it was important for adults to talk openly with young people about their concerns.

"One thing we can absolutely do is talk with our children about climate change," she said.

"We might not be able to tackle climate change this afternoon, but we can certainly make sure our children are not left alone with their fears.

"We must trust that children need to be part of the solution."

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.