What is on the minds of today's children? The Independent asked youngsters what they really feel about their own lives and the wider world.

How well do you think you know us?

Alfie Blagg, 7
Attends Horniman Primary School in Lewisham, south London, and lives with his parents and brother.

"I think the Prime Minister is good. He is younger and more like my dad. I am looking forward to going on holiday to Spain this summer because I will play with my cousins. They are both girls but we will have lots of fun. At school we don't talk to the girls; it's not cool. It is good being a child because we don't have to worry about dying - my little brother worries about dying but he is four so I tell him he has got another 40 years left yet. Global warming is a problem. I think we should use the wind and water to power things. But I don't know what we would do about cars."

Ben Tisdall, 8
Attends Shacklewell Primary School and lives in Stoke Newington, north London, with his mother, father and five-year-old brother Dexter.

"The teachers at my school are kind and I think they listen to us and take us seriously, except when we interrupt when they're talking, which I think is OK. There is a bit of bullying at my school; about two weeks ago some older boys tried to steal my bike. I like where I live because you can go to the park but, if I could, I would have a bit more flowers, trees and grass around. If I were the Prime Minister I would make a rule that there would be no more wars and I would ban guns and knives. I would also try to cut down on all the electricity we are using."

Ashley Thompson, 9
From Chichester, Sussex. Lives with his parents, grandmother and 19-year-old sister Jenni.

"The bullies at school call me names for being rubbish at hand-writing. It does upset me but I usually just ignore them and then talk it through with my mum at home. People gang up on one person and start a fight. I am too frightened to do anything to help but we run to the teachers to tell them. One day I want to win a medal in something like football - that would make me very happy. I think Tony Blair is a good Prime Minister but he puts the money up for the school I might go to which annoys my mum and dad. If I had his job then I would lower the fees and make sure that there is no more war in the world."

Katie O'Donnell, 10
From Cricklewood, north London, lives with her parents, elder brother and younger sister. She has impaired vision due to retinitis pigmentosa, which gives her tunnel vision.

"I don't see my vision as being a disability, because I've had it for so long. It's a lot better than having any other problems, like not being able to hear or something. Some people are nasty to me at school because of my eyes. Because I wear glasses they think that I am a nerd, but I'm not. I usually try to think of something nice to take my mind off it and ignore them. I like to go to Guides because I am happy there and no one picks on me. Everyone should try Brownies or Guides; they helped me to be happy about myself."

Dawn Price-Latorre, 11
From Hackney Marshes, east London, alternates fortnightly between living with her mother and father.

"I left primary on Friday so it's big school next year which is a bit scary. There will be lots more children, lots more subjects and lots more homework. One thing I am looking forward to in secondary school is that there are so many people. I get to choose my friends. I would like to stop poverty or homelessness. I want people to get on as well. If was in charge of the country I would make more room for the homeless, give children more rights and try to make things more fair. Money is too important to a lot of people. There are horrible people who have a lot of power who should not have it."

Fred Dickenson, 12
Lives on a farm near Harpenden, Hertfordshire, with his parents and younger brother Jack.

"I just like the atmosphere on the farm. If I don't, no one else is going to do it. And I don't want to stop farming, that's what I believe in. Jack sits on the computer all day. I just find it's really boring. Like with the farming, it's all there, you can touch it. With the computer, it's all on a screen and graphics and stuff, and I find that really boring. My dad and I are pretty good mates - best mates actually. We talk about school, girlfriends and stuff. I would wish for a world where no one killed anyone else. I think the world is a busy place anyway but we can't be bothered when people are killing other people: that's not the world we want."

Jade Govan, 13
Lives in Dorchester, Dorset, with her mother, stepfather and 10-year-old sister.

"I think friends are the main ingredient of life; it is important to have someone to talk to about everything from your problems to what you did at school. I am quite a nervous person and I don't feel safe at night, walking around alone. My mum treats me as a close friend: we go shopping together and have a great relationship. We often go out on day trips, like to National Trust places which can be fun because you do learn things. Sometimes it isn't easy being a child but it is mostly enjoyable when you don't have to deal with bad things. My mum tries to protect me but I know some children have a hard time."

Alasdair MacRae, 14
From Ealing, west London, just finished his first year as a boarder at Harrow Boys' School. He has one younger brother.

"I play quite a lot of rugby in the winter, and cricket and golf in the summer. I've never had a games console or whatever, and don't regret not having one at all. There's always other things to enjoy. The older boys get a lot more respect at Harrow but wouldn't do things that would hurt you or injure you in any serious way. If you use your money in a productive way, like giving to charity or use it to help them, then that would give you happiness - to feel you'd done something. I think that if anyone has a valid opinion, he should be listened to. As a child I do feel a bit patronised."

Tristan Balcombe, 15
Attends City of London Boys School. He lives with his parents and three brothers in West Hampstead, London.

"I do prefer to be led rather than leading as I don't like the responsibility, I have enough of that at home with my younger brothers. My younger brother is a charmer. Maybe he gets it from my dad. There is a lot of pressure put on us for our GCSEs; they try to tell us not to worry but if we don't get it right then we might mess up our future. I used to like the Prime Minister, but now nobody likes him any more - like when Thatcher was Prime Minister. All my friends feel pressure to get a girlfriend but once you have had one then you can rest on your laurels. It seems too much like hard work."

Hannah Miley, 16
Lottery-funded British swimming champion from Inverurie, near Aberdeen in Scotland. She came fourth in the 400m individual medley at the 2005 Commonwealth Games.

"I enjoy the life I'm living at the moment because I say to myself, how many other 16-year-olds have travelled across Europe and America in the last year? I consider myself lucky to be able to have this opportunity, but sometimes I do feel: why can't I go out and see my friends? If I had one wish, I would find something which would be best for my family; more hours in the day so we could spend more time together. The older generation criticises us more for being rebels because our generation is completely different."

Dan Bishop, 17
The sixth-form student and Young Mensa member from Middlesbrough has an IQ of 151, putting him in the top 2 per cent in the country.

"Being part of Young Mensa means I can talk to people who are in the same position as me and who have the same intellectual capacity. I can't really talk to my friends at school about things like global warming because they either don't have an opinion or they don't know enough about the subject to form an opinion. Other kids will get away with making mistakes, whereas expectations of me are so high that I can't afford to. If I was the Prime Minister I would divert money from war to more worthy causes like poverty in Africa."

Saad Batt, 18
Lives in east London, and is a student at St Angela's and Bonaventure's Sixth Form. Saad moved to the UK from Pakistan in 1998 with his mother and his younger brother and sister.

"My father died when I was 15. I didn't feel ready to become an adult but it was forced upon me. At my lowest point I considered suicide. Eventually I sought comfort from the things I had been doing before my father died, like the Youth Parliament. Childhood no longer exists. Young people are too keen to grow up. I look at children who are wasting their lives and I don't get it - they are lucky to have so many opportunities."
 

Interviews by Lauren Veevers, Severin Carrell and Ian Griggs
23 July 2006

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article1191960.ece

 
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