British kids would rather be happy than rich

Being happy is more important to children than being famous or rich, a survey reveals.

The poll of British primary school children also found that terrorism was considered the worst thing in the world - and that Simon Cowell was thought to be more famous than Jesus.

If children ran the world they would most want to ban knives and guns and have more school holidays.

The drive to tackle the obesity epidemic appears to have registered with children, as fear of being fat has shot up the list of worries among the under-10s to number three, up from ninth place last year.

The survey of 1,800 children across the UK was carried out to mark today’s National Kids’ Day.

Spokesman Patricia Murchie said: “The idea is to give preteens a national voice for their views in a very simple format.

“This age group has some very clear ideas on how the world could be changed for the better but is very rarely given the opportunity to express them.”

Marriage appears to have risen in popularity among children with 82 per cent saying they will wed when they grow up compared with 76 per cent in 2006 and 72 per cent in 2005.

This is how the youngsters expressed their views:

What is the very best thing in the world: 1 Being happy. 2 Being famous. 3 Being healthy. 4 Being rich. 5 Families. 6 Good looks. 7 Nice food. 8 Friends. 9 Computer games. 10 Holidays.

What are the very worst: 1 Terrorists. 2 Drunks. 3 Being fat. 4 Bullies. 5 Illness. 6 Dying. 7 Divorce. 8 School. 9 Telling lies. 10 Wars.

Who is the most famous person in the world: 1 The Queen. 2 Harry Potter. 3 God. 4 Father Christmas. 5 Simon Cowell. 6 Jesus. 7 Jonny Wilkinson. 8 Spider-Man. 9 Prince William. 10 David Cameron.