In a study conducted by two academics – Carmel Cefai and Natalie Galea – entitled ‘Children’s worlds: the subjective well-being of Maltese children’, it was reported that more than one third of eight-year-old students were not happy with the way they were treated by their doctors. When compared with their international peers in 15 other countries, the Maltese children ranked last.

The findings indicated there could be issues with Maltese doctors’ behaviour and their rapport with children, stressing the need for establishing a more child-friendly relationship with young patients. They also suggested there was what the authors referred to as “poor health literacy” among a number of children, with many of them entertaining a negative perception of doctors and healthcare.

Both this and the doctors’ lack of rapport with children seemed to indicate, according to the study, a requirement for more child-friendly health services and a better relationship to be established by doctors with young patients.

‘Children’s worlds’ was not solely confined to doctor and young patient relationships, however. It also examined the eight-year-olds’ relationships with their teachers, where this proved to be one of the strengths insofar as the Maltese children’s well-being was concerned compared to other countries participating in the study.

Given the privileged relationship that exists between doctors and teachers with children of this age, the difference in attitudes between the children and their doctors and the same children and their teachers is remarkable.

Clearly, the common denominator lies in the training both these professions receive in dealing with children of this age. One must tentatively conclude, therefore, that doctors are lacking something in their training that makes them less able to establish the necessary rapport to make young children feel at ease in their clinics or in delivering a child-friendly health service.

However, the study also established that Maltese eight-year-olds scored quite low on how safe they felt at school. More than a quarter reported frequent physical or “relational” bullying. Boys, not unexpectedly, reported higher levels of physical victimisation and girls pointed out higher levels of psychological bullying.

Primary schoolchildren were more prone to bullying, with eight-year-olds reporting a higher degree of physical bullying and 10-year-olds experiencing more psychological or “relational” bullying.

When compared to the other countries in the study, Malta placed third in terms of physical bullying among eight-year-olds and fourth in psychological bullying among 10- to 12-year-olds.

This is an issue the educational authorities in Malta must give priority to since it is well established that bullying poses a serious health hazard, with both short- and long-term negative consequences on academic achievement and mental health, self-respect and well-being.

There is no doubt that children should be protected from bullying and should be assured of “bully-free learning and play environments”. While one cannot gainsay the report’s plea for urgent action to make every effort to prevent bullying in Maltese schools, it is in the nature of competitive children everywhere to seek to establish a competitive advantage over their peers.

While to achieve this by physical or psychological bullying is always wrong, the job of teachers and schools is to ensure that the natural competitive instincts of children are channelled in a constructive, healthy and beneficial way to good ends.