Shmatova Yu.E., Natsun L.N., Razvarina I.N., Gordievskaya A.N.

The strategic documents of Russia's development enshrine the growth of population well-being as one of the key goals. This task is particularly relevant for the rapidly shrinking child population – the economic, labor, intellectual, moral, and reproductive reserve of society, and a significant factor in national security. Measures to improve child health and well-being yield immediate, long-term, and intergenerational benefits that are synergistically amplified. The article presents an analysis of foreign and Russian research experience in the field of child well-being. Examples of assessment tools developed within applied international and national social projects are provided. Studies on the subjective well-being of children, considering the value of their opinions, are examined separately. Based on the analysis, the authors propose an original methodology for assessing the child well-being index at the level of the microsystem in a region. The scientific novelty of the new methodology lies in its capacity to assess the well-being level of children in five age groups and to correlate it with the child's human development index during the corresponding life period. The practical results of the study can be applied in the development of state policy aimed at improving the well-being of the child population.