Well, there’s new research coming out of Australia indicating that children on that continent are becoming more anxious about the future of the planet, and from recent posts here and here, I think they’ve got good reason to be. The study, done by the Australian Childhood Foundation, surveyed 600 of them and shows that more than half are scared there will not be enough water in the future. It went on to show that more than a third of them were anxious about terrorism, were worried that one day they will have to fight in a war, and one in four believed the world will end before they reached adulthood. As the head of the foundation, Dr. Joseph Tucci, points out, this insecurity could have serious consequences for society. He says that "We're already starting to see an increase in mental health problems, we're starting to see an increase in anxiety problems, I think it's not out of the question that we'll see problems with alcohol and drug addiction increase as well," He feels that kids are being exposed to adult concepts before they are ready to understand them, and that "It's really important ... that kids are able to feel like their parents are managing the world around them, in their immediate world, in order for them to feel secure and to feel safe and confident about growing older". The question that strikes my mind is whether or not adults need to be as concerned about the issues we face as these children are? Maybe the real concern is that adults simply aren’t doing what needs to be done, leading to genuine concerns by kids who can see it for themselves on the nightly news and in the world around them. Remember that kids aren’t jaded by their job description or their political affiliation, and that makes a great deal of difference even if they necessarily understand everything they see and read around them.

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