ABSTRACT
For the majority of children and young people life is great. In contrast to the plight of children worldwide especially in developing countries, ours have wealth, health, education, information, knowledge, travel and opportunities. There has been an explosion of interest and discussion on how children and young people feel about themselves driven by the soaring rates of emotional and mental ill health. The Children's Society has been pre-eminent in the UK in addressing childhood today through its seminal publication the Good childhood enquiry the circumstance for children today. Epidemiological associations between adverse childhood experiences and long-term adult outcomes are potentially of huge political and economic importance, and such data could be used for more effective political advocacy for the best interest of children. The opportunity for interventions to prevent or ameliorate adverse outcomes is real, not least from the stunning work of Merzenich and Haigh over the potential to re-wire the brain after damaging experiences.
