**2. Theoretical overview**

Children's perspectives on their behavior, health, well-being, and other aspects of their lives differ from those of adults – teachers and parents – and are a valuable source of information about how settings, such as school, home, and community, can improve children's well-being and quality of life. The very understanding of children's well-being by adults and the understanding of their well-being by children themselves diverge. Based on this, some researchers propose the idea of special "cultures of childhood," which are not limited to the scheme of "development in interaction with adults," but are built on their own initiative, opinions, views of children, and their informal communication" [1].

Subjective well-being in research does not only mean happiness, satisfaction with one's own life, and achievement of goals, but also the absence of negative feelings, ideal physical and mental well-being, safety, and sufficiency of resources [2]. Bradburn believed that subjective well-being is the relationship between positive and negative affects, which as a result give a person a feeling of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their own life. Bradburn created a model of the structure of subjective well-being, which was based on the balance of diverse affects – positive and negative. A follower of Bradburn and a representative of the hedonistic approach was Ed. Diener, who created a theoretical basis for the study of subjective well-being, is recognized as the "gold standard" in the study of psychological well-being, where special attention is paid to the cognitive and emotional assessment of life satisfaction, that is, the degree of experiencing happiness (the ratio of positive and negative affect) [3, 4]. A cognitive component includes a general intellectual assessment of a person's satisfaction with various areas of their life, that is, to what extent a person's life satisfies their individual expectations. The emotional component of subjective well-being is considered the long-term frequency of positive or negative impact, that is, experiencing a bad or good mood. Diener believes that each person individually relates this or that event to the concept of "good" or "bad," each of which carries a certain emotional response.

Arkhireeva regards the subjective well-being of the child as a system of experiences that reflect the child's ideas and impressions about their place in the "environment — child" system. The structure of the subjective well-being of a primary student, according to the researcher, includes:

	- 1. satisfaction with relationships with parents, the teacher, and peers;
	- 2. satisfaction with success in educational activities;

According to Eliseeva, subjective well-being includes two main components:


Well-being is a subjective matter considering that every person and child have their own perception of it. Our study corroborates this thesis. Additionally, in different periods of time, one acquires new priorities, values, necessities, and desires, and it is their fulfillment that defines one's life satisfaction.

Every parent tries to create a better childhood for their offspring, guided by their own views. Nonetheless, their understanding of a better childhood may not correspond with that of the child themselves. For example, for a child brought up in an orphanage, the highest degree of happiness is to have a family; for a child with physical disabilities to become healthy and play outside with their peers; and a healthy child in an ordinary family dreams of a new pricy gadget. A child from a big family may dream of a separate bedroom, their own space and privacy.

Well-being and happiness are closely connected notions. However, there are certain differences. On the one hand, well-being is a more scientific term, while the notion of happiness is often used in the ordinary life. On the other hand, there is a difference in the definitions of the terms. Well-being is a more stable state; it is an individual's assessment of their own life, its quality, and the satisfaction with various aspects of life on the cognitive and emotional levels. Happiness has more to do with one's emotions; it is a state of excitement and euphoria deriving from the accomplishment of certain goals. Unlike well-being, happiness is a more fleeting state. Human psyche is incapable of experiencing euphoria for a long time. People are constantly striving for improvement and for something new; therefore, something that caused the sensation of absolute happiness one day can feel ordinary the next day.
