The Truth About What Makes Children Thrive
Let's fast forward to Boxing Day morning at my house. The living room is covered in torn wrapping paper and I’m pretty sure my kids had chocolate for breakfast. The expensive toy that topped the wish list? Already abandoned in favour of building a fort with the sofa cushions. My daughters know that their Uncle Owen builds dens that can’t be beaten. And my dad is being the best Super Kitty my daughter’s ever seen (if you know, you know).
Here's the truth we don't often say out loud: the best things for children aren't found under the tree. They never have been.
As the most commercial time of the year approaches, it’s good to remember that what shapes a child's future isn't the latest gadget or trending toy. It's something far more fundamental. Let's talk about what children actually need—not just at Christmas, but every single day—to survive, thrive, and reach their full potential.
The 5 Real Essentials Every Child Needs
Timeline
- 1. Love and security: The foundation for everything
- 2. Education: The Most Powerful Tool for Breaking Poverty Cycles
- 3. Health and Nutrition: The Difference Between Thriving and Merely Surviving
- 4. Play and Creativity: How Children Make Sense of Their World
- 5. Protection from Harm: Every Child's Fundamental Right
1. Love and security: The foundation for everything
This is where everything begins. Children who feel safe and loved develop the confidence to explore, learn, and grow. It's about consistent care, reliable adults, and a place they can call home—their anchor in an uncertain world.
The Reality: Too Many Children Live Without Safety
According to UNICEF's 2024 review, more than 473 million children—over one in six globally—are living in areas directly affected by conflict. In 2024, the UN verified 41,370 grave violations against children in armed conflict, the highest number since monitoring began almost 30 years ago. This represents a 25% increase from 2023. Even in the UK, poverty creates instability. According to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and analysis by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), 4.5 million children—31% of all UK children—were living in poverty in the year to April 2024, a record high that fundamentally undermines their sense of security and wellbeing.
What Save the Children Does
Our child protection programmes reached 3.3 million children in 2023 (Save the Children UK), helping those facing conflict, exploitation, or neglect to find safety and support. We provide safe spaces, mental health support, and work to reunite separated families.
2. Education: The Most Powerful Tool for Breaking Poverty Cycles
Not just school, though that matters enormously. We're talking about the chance to learn, to be curious, to ask "why?" without limits. Access to books, to teachers who care, to spaces where young minds can expand and imagine different futures.
The Reality: Millions of Children Denied Their Right to Learn
According to UNESCO's 2025 SDG 4 Scorecard, 272 million children and youth worldwide are currently out of school. This includes 78 million children of primary school age. Our own analysis found that one in three children—103 million—living in conflict or fragile countries were out of school in 2024, three times the global rate. Even when children are in school, quality matters. According to UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring Report 2024, an estimated 70% of 10-year-olds in low and middle-income countries cannot understand a simple written text.
What Save the Children Does
In 2024, our global movement reached 41.2 million children through health, nutrition, and education programmes. In the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, we supported over 60,000 out-of-school children to access learning. In Ethiopia, our partnership work meant children could receive an average of 4.5 years more education than before.
3. Health and Nutrition: The Difference Between Thriving and Merely Surviving
Simple as it sounds: children need enough to eat. The right nutrition. Clean water. Basic healthcare when they're ill. These aren't nice-to-haves—they're the difference between a child who can concentrate at school and one who's too hungry to focus, too weak to play, too unwell to learn.
The Reality: The Global Nutrition Crisis Affecting Millions
The statistics are staggering. According to the 2025 UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates, 150.2 million children under 5 years globally were stunted in 2024, while 42.8 million suffered from wasting. Research shows malnourished children face lifelong impacts on their cognitive development and physical health, limiting their future opportunities. According to UNICEF's Global Report on Food Crises (May 2025), more than 295 million people across 53 countries experienced acute hunger in 2024—an increase of 13.7 million from 2023. Conflict continues to be the primary driver, disrupting food systems, displacing populations, and obstructing humanitarian access.
Take Ereng's story from Kenya. When drought hit her village, the 18-month-old became dangerously malnourished. After two months of treatment with fortified nutrition paste at a Save the Children-supported clinic, she gained 2.4kg and was discharged healthy. Read more about our nutrition work.
What Save the Children Does
Our teams provide counselling, breastfeeding support, malnutrition screening, vitamin supplements, and cash transfers. We're also pioneering new methods of predicting food crises so governments can act sooner, preventing malnutrition before it becomes life-threatening.
4. Play and Creativity: How Children Make Sense of Their World
Remember that fort made from cushions? That's not just fun—it's how children develop the skills they'll need for life. According to Save the Children UK's Early Years Knowledge Bank research on play, play provides the foundations for wellbeing, social and emotional, cognitive, and physical development.
The Evidence: Why Play Matters for Development
During early childhood, brain development accelerates at a remarkable rate—and every playful moment contributes to lifelong learning. Research from the American Academy of Pediatrics demonstrates that developmentally appropriate play is essential for promoting social-emotional, cognitive, language, and self-regulation skills that build executive function.
Play develops problem-solving skills, social abilities, imagination, and emotional regulation. It doesn't require expensive toys. Cardboard boxes, time outdoors, freedom to explore and create—these cost little but give immeasurably. Yet poverty often limits access to these simple opportunities.
What Save the Children Does
Through our Early Years Knowledge Bank, we provide free resources to inspire play-based learning. We've developed resources like Wonderpacks to support families experiencing financial hardship, ensuring every child has opportunities to learn through play.
5. Protection from Harm: Every Child's Fundamental Right
Every child deserves to grow up free from violence, exploitation, and abuse. They need protection from conflict, from having to work instead of going to school, from marriage before they're ready. This is perhaps the most fundamental right, yet it's denied to far too many children worldwide.
The Reality: Violence Against Children Reaching Record Levels
The situation is deeply troubling. According to the UN Secretary-General's Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict (June 2025), 11,967 children were killed or maimed in 2024, with the highest numbers in the occupied Palestinian territory (8,544), the Democratic Republic of Congo (4,043), and Somalia (2,568). Verified cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence against children increased by 35% in 2024. In Haiti alone, there was a 1,000% increase in reported incidents of sexual violence against children during 2024.
Take Shumi's story from India. At 15, her parents wanted to marry her to a man she'd never met. With support from a Save the Children-trained peer leader, she convinced her family to let her complete her education instead. Read more stories of impact.
What Save the Children Does
We're working to protect children who are being bombed, shot, starved, and raped—enforcing the global standard that children should always be off-limits in war. We provide trauma support, family reunification services, and work with communities to prevent child marriage and exploitation.
Why These Five Essentials Work Together
These five essentials aren't separate items on a list—they're interconnected and mutually reinforcing. A child who's well-fed learns better. A child who feels safe plays more freely. A child with education can protect themselves better. A child who plays develops the resilience to cope with adversity.
When any one of these essentials is missing, it affects all the others. That's why comprehensive support matters—why tackling child poverty, for example, requires addressing education, nutrition, and protection simultaneously.
In 2024, the Save the Children global movement directly supported 41.2 million children in 93 countries (Save the Children UK data). Across the UK and in over 100 countries worldwide, we're working to ensure children have access to exactly these things. Not tomorrow. Not eventually. Now.
When conflict breaks out, we're there providing safe spaces and education. When disasters strike, we deliver food and healthcare. When systems fail children, we advocate for better protection.
How You Can Help Provide What Children Really Need
This Christmas, while you're buying gifts for the children in your life (and we're not saying don't—those moments of joy matter too), consider the children who lack these five essentials.
Your donation provides what children truly need:
- £10 monthly could supply 60 sachets of nutrition paste to malnourished children every month
- £30 could provide educational materials for a child for a year
- £50 could supply nutrition supplements for a malnourished child
- £100 could support our child protection programmes
The children in your life will outgrow their presents by January. But a child receiving education, nutrition, or protection? That changes their entire trajectory. It changes their life chances, their future opportunities, and ultimately, it changes the world.
Help us provide what children truly need. Donate today.
Because the best gifts aren't wrapped in paper. They're wrapped in possibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most important things children need for healthy development?
The five essentials are: love and security, education, health and nutrition, play and creativity, and protection from harm. Research shows these interconnected needs form the foundation for lifelong wellbeing.
How many children worldwide lack access to education?
According to UNESCO's 2025 data, 272 million children and youth are currently out of school globally, with one in three children in conflict-affected countries missing out on education.
How does child poverty affect development in the UK?
4.5 million children in the UK live in poverty, which affects every aspect of their development—from nutrition and health to educational attainment and emotional wellbeing.
Why is play important for child development?
Play develops problem-solving skills, social abilities, imagination, and emotional regulation. Research shows it enhances brain structure and function, promoting executive function skills essential for learning.
How does Save the Children protect children in conflict zones?
We provide safe spaces, mental health support, education in emergencies, nutrition programmes, and work to reunite separated families while advocating for children's protection under international law.
