A nationwide study of the nation’s five-to-12-years-olds has found a staggering 63% believe they could do a better job of running the country than the current government.
According to the poll of 1,500 children, if the power was shifted, top of list of laws would be to introduce free cinema tickets for everyone (38%), followed by installing swimming pools in every house in the UK (36%) and banning parents from saying the word “no” (34%).
There would also be compulsory ice cream for dinner every night (32%), school playtime would last four hours (30%) and trips to the moon for all children would be made available (19%).
The nation's children would also ban bedtimes (29%), schools would abolished in favour of home schooling (29%) and cartoons would run all day on every single channel (22%), replacing lessons.
However, in addition to the more fanciful suggestions, British children are clearly concerned about the planet, with a fifth saying they would plant more trees, 19% saying that they would try to stop the cutting down of the rainforest, and the same number would criminalise people who dropped litter.
When it came to family life, 13% would ban da from breaking wind, and 8% would make it illegal for mum to give them a goodbye kiss at the school gates.
The research, to mark the DVD release of The Kid Who Would Be King, found that while British children want to have fun, they’re not unaware of world events - and not worried about diplomacy. More than half (47%) of those polled said would immediately send Donald Trump to the Tower of London if they were in charge.
Nearly a quarter (23%) would send Theresa May there, 18% said they would whisk Simon Cowell off our screens and straight into a dungeon.
The study found that British kids are a confident bunch, with 85% of them certain that they’d make a brilliant ruler.
Nearly two thirds (63%) believe that the world would be a better place if they were in charge rather than adults, 23% were uncertain, and only 14% thought that it should be left to grown-ups.
In fact, 60% believe adults have “messed up the world” already, 88% think that adults should listen to kids more, and 67% would like a say in how the country was run.
The study found that when it comes to the day-to-day running of their own house, 59% said Mum is the boss, while 15% said it was Dad, and the rest reported that it is shared.
Interestingly, girls are more likely to ban school (32%) than boys (18%), while boys were more in favour of banning pineapple on pizza (13%) than girls (6%)
Laws kids would pass if they run the country
- Free cinema tickets for everyone - 38%
- Swimming pools to be built in every house in the UK - 36%
- Parents using the word “no” to be made illegal - 34%
- Free ice cream for dinner every night - 32%
- School playtimes to last four hours - 30%
- Bedtimes to be banned - 29%
- Schools to be abolished in favour of home schooling - 29%
- Cartoons to run all day long on TV - 22%
- More trees to be planted in the UK - 20%
- Try and stop the cutting down of rainforests - 19%
- Make dropping litter illegal - 19%
- Trips to the moon made available for all children - 19%
- Ban all plastics forever - 15%
- Make eating vegetables illegal - 14%
- Dads are not allowed to break wind - 13%
- Make all cars electric - 11%
- Ponies to replace cars - 9%
- Make mum and dad recycle by law - 9%
- Ban pineapple on pizza - 9%
- Make it illegal for mums to kiss children at school gates - 8%
