Rethinking Children’s Time: A Step Toward Better Well-Being

Childhood and the teenage years are a complicated time in every person’s life, with its unique challenges, such as balancing school, family life, nascent friendships etc. And the modern world creates unique life conditions for children and teenagers, often exacerbating inherent issues and creating new, purely contemporary problems. Many ask themselves: “What can be done?” This year, France made an impressive step in answering this question.

In 2025, from June to November, the CESE (Conseil économique, social et environnemental; the Economic, Social and Environmental Council) in France organised a Citizens’ Convention dedicated to Children’s Time (Convention citoyenne sur les temps de l’enfant). It consisted of 133 French citizens from different socioeconomic backgrounds ages 19 to 83, chosen at random to represent the diversity of French society, who collaborated with 20 young people ages 12 to 17, who were also randomly selected.

The goal of the Convention was to answer the question posed by the Prime Minister: “How to better structure the different daily times in the life of children in order to make it more favorable to their learning, development and health?” with a democratic representative effort. The Convention focused on analysing the issues concerning children from 3 to 18 years old and providing concrete pathways forward to improve their lives. Infants and children younger than 3 were not included due to the unique challenges that they encounter and pose for their caregivers. On the 23rd of November, the Convention released its report, which includes both a detailed diagnostic of the current situation, as well as 20 concrete suggestions for improvements.

The issues highlighted by the report included:

- children’s time being structured by external constraints rather than their needs
- limited or inexistent free unstructured time that is essential to their development
- too much pressure put on children due to performance and productivity expectations set by society
- a lack of financial and human ressources
- a lack of protections from violence and harassment
- a lack of diversity and inclusion
- deprioritisation of physical and mental health
- social and regional inequalities
- constant augmentation of screen usage.

The main adopted propositions of practical changes included:

✅ Making the days less tiring by postponing the start of classes to 9 a.m.

✅ Prolonging the lunch break to the duration of 1h30

✅ Switching to a full 5-day school week

✅ Doing the majority of homework at school in dedicated spaces

✅ Instating an extended curriculum that would teach theoretical knowledge in the morning and practical learning in the afternoon

✅ Reducing the duration of individual classes to 45 minutes

✅ Making education on responsible technology use mandatory.

It also listed numerous proposals for improvements that aim to reorganise school holidays, coordinate educators and other actors, reducing commutes and protecting the rights of parents. The full list of proposals (in French) can be viewed on the Convention’s website.

This initiative marks an important turning point in how France envisions childhood and adolescence. By placing children’s real needs at the center of public debate, the Convention offers a blueprint for a healthier, more balanced and more inclusive daily life. Its proposals underline a collective desire to rebuild an educational environment where well-being and development come first. Whether these recommendations will translate into long-term policy remains to be seen, but the Convention has already succeeded in elevating the conversation and reminding us that a fairer future begins with listening to young people and reshaping the systems that structure their lives.

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