Children and young people, as well as adults with and without their own children, have lent their voices to the narratives of earlier chapters. Their views have helped to illuminate how childhood is constructed in contemporary England, how children and adults regard and respond to each other, and different perspectives on priorities for young lives. The research sample in question comprised some 2,000 young people from 7 to 15 years and 500 adults. These respondents were drawn from the general population and provided a ‘normal’ range of views. Undoubtedly they included some young people and families in difficulty, but those with particular problems were not specifically targeted and will not have been numerous. This final chapter draws out key messages for policy and practice that start with, but go beyond, what they said. These messages assume that policy and practice must be for all children, including those with problems of different kinds. However they must take account of the enormous individual differences between children but yet seek to bring different worlds of childhood together in the interests of social cohesion and the commonality of citizenship. The goal must also be to reduce inequalities within childhood, and to investigate and act on their causes and impacts as a matter of urgency. It is hoped these messages will resonate not only with policy makers and practitioners but also with children and adults themselves.

Children want to be children

A first clear conclusion is that children, young and old, want to be children. Almost all those in the surveys described their childhoods as happy, most said they enjoyed being young, and only a minority reported a lot to worry about. Indeed, the main ‘best thing’ about being young was not having many worries and responsibilities.

For all these reasons, most children were not in any hurry to become young adults and many thought children and young people grow up too quickly. Well over half felt they had to make too many decisions for themselves (although there was no indication how many is too many). They wanted to grow up, have their say, and be listened to and involved in the process of their own lives – but in their own time.