Looking to the future At the end of the surveys, children, parents/ guardians and grandparents were asked to reflect on their experiences and to consider the future. Sections 9.1 and 9.2 highlight children’s hopes and worries for the future. Throughout the surveys, children, parents/ guardians and grandparents were given the opportunity to suggest ways to better support children’s mental health and wellbeing during, and beyond, the pandemic. Section 9.3 consolidates the information that they provided. This section informs the recommendations made in the report. 9.1 Children’s hopes for the future Despite the negative impacts of the pandemic, many children expressed hopefulness about the future. In the question, ‘How hopeful do you feel when you think about the future?’, 21% said that they were ‘very’ hopeful, 26% were ‘a bit’ hopeful, compared to 9% that said they were ‘not very’ hopeful, and only 4% said they were ‘not at all’ hopeful for the future. Figure 33: Children’s survey: how hopeful are you about the future? 21% 34% SECTION 110 | 9 6% Very hopeful (n=955) A bit hopeful (n=1189) Not very hopeful (n=422) Not at all hopeful (n=161) I don’t know (n=294) Did not answer question (n=1538) 26% 4% 9% The extent of hopefulness varied across different age groups. 23% of children aged 9–11, 20% of children aged 12–13, 11% of children aged 14–15, and 12% of children aged 16–17 responded, ‘very hopeful’. This is consistent with other research that has found declining feelings of optimism as children get older.53 25% of parents/guardians and grandparents responding on behalf of their child said that they think their child is ‘very’ hopeful when thinking about the future. ‘Mental health shapes my life’: COVID-19 & kids’ wellbeing • 2022 | 111