'toxic childhood'

Are children in the UK today experiencing 'toxic childhood'?

---The term "toxic childhood" entered the language three years ago with the publication of a book by Sue Palmer, which expressed concern about what she alleged was a loss of childhood caused by modern consumerist lifestyles.
Although "toxic childhood" has been questioned and doubted by more and more people, the problem about children is still worth being cared by us. There is a report by UNICEF ranked children's wellbeing in the UK 21st out of 25 countries that it examined. The rank proved that childhood in UK is not so good which resulting in a pervading fear among parents in the UK that while they live in a fast-moving, consumer society where mothers are forced to work, children face exhaustive school tests, and people are more likely to visit a farmer's market than a church, they have lost sight of what matters. Besides,the UK has the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Western Europe and leads Europe for the proportion of young people living in single parent families. There are also high rates of obesity, binge-drinking, and drug-taking. Bob Reitemeier, Chief Executive of the Children's Society, says: "Evidence suggests that on the whole, young people in the UK have more concerns than their western European counterparts.
But now,explicit targets were set on reducing child poverty and although these have not been met, the child poverty reductions are nevertheless "very impressive".