Norway: The Best Place On Earth To Raise Your Kids!

According to a new study, this European country provides the best environment to raise future generations. We’re talking about Norway! Out of the 180 countries that were studied by the medical publication called The Lancet, it made it to #1. The research was done in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. Let’s find out why they’ve come to this conclusion!

How The Study Was Conducted

The Lancet looked into determinants such as child survival rates, nutritional data, length of their time in school, accessibility to health services, hygiene, mother’s mortality, the predominance of violence, teenage birth rates, and absence of poverty. Furthermore, researchers also measured each country’s carbon emission levels to learn how the children’s future could be protected against the changing environment.

Aside from Norway, which is renowned for its splendid mountains, fjords, and northern lights, South Korea and Netherlands also made it into the 2nd and 3rd spot. France and Ireland then landed the 4th and 5th spots. It was found that the leading nations all had superior systems established to cultivate child development from learning and medical institutions to environmental policies.

A Wake-up Call!

Nonetheless, The Lancet’s study also declared that not even one country did well on all three areas of child flourishing, sustainability, as well as equity. Simply put, none of these countries actually promote healthy childhood and environment that’s equipped for the future. In fact, some countries topped the list as places for children to grow up healthy, secure, and educated but placed high on the rankings of excessive carbon emissions.

According to WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, this research only showed that the decision-makers of the world are failing the children and youth of this day and age. Why? Because they fail to preserve their health, fail to secure their rights, and fail to guard their planet. Among all else, this must serve as a wake-up call for all the nations to make investments in child health and development, make sure their voices are heard, defend their rights, and create a future fit for these young people.

Family Is Still The Most Important

When it comes to the merged environment, health, and welfare metrics, merely nine countries did well for their kids, including Albania, Jordan, Sri Lanka, and Uruguay.

But wherever country children are brought up, the research made it clear that the kids all had identical responses when questioned about what made them the happiest: togetherness in their family, security, sanitation, and access to culture and education. So even if not all of us can live in Norway, we can still work on cultivating our children to grow healthy and happy.