Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to present the analysis of a number of family-based factors that can influence child well-being. We are presently witnessing a worsening position for children, of different degrees and intensities, in various parts of the world. This is a consequence not only of the financial crisis currently ravaging many Western nations, it is also a result of the deterioration of the economic and social conditions of young parents with low education and of their children in the last decades. Although there is evidence of welfare state regimes having a positive impact on the outcomes for children in terms of enhanced social cohesion and reduction of poverty as a result of resource redistribution, it is not clear yet what aspects of material conditions really matter for achieving other dimensions of well-being. Family policies should be based on a child-centered perspective. One way this can be done is through mainstreaming standard evaluation of policy outcomes in terms of child well-being. It is important that more and more family policies be assessed in terms of their final effective outcomes for child well-being with respect to quality of life, satisfaction, and happiness.