By Erin Schryer and Nicole Letourneau Canada, Child well-being, childhood development, equality, health, history, low income, low income neighbourhood
National Child Day has been celebrated across Canada every November 20th since 1993 to commemorate the United Nations’ adoption of two documents describing children’s rights: The 1959 United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
By Nathan Nickel and Michael Moffatt Child well-being, childhood education, children, children in care, early childhood programs, environment, family, family support, health, Manitoba
To thrive economically, Manitoba needs young people. Fortunately, our relatively high birth rate — around 1.93 for every 1000 women — combined with favourable immigration trends means that Manitoba’s population will continue to grow.
By Chris Harper child and family services, child development, Child poverty, Child well-being, children, children in care, children's health, first nations children, Low-income children
Last year at a camp in southern New Brunswick I met Evan. Before turning eight, he had bounced from foster home to foster home. He was sent to camp without a bathing suit or sufficient lunch. Regardless, Evan smiled constantly, excelled in school and had a striking sense of compassion. I still think about Evan all the time — what allowed him to thrive in spite of the cards he had been dealt?
Some of the most complex needs of my patients stem from poverty and not disease alone
By Laura Stymiest with Elizabeth Lee-Ford Jones ADHD, child development, Child poverty, Child well-being, childhood education, hunger, social conditions, social paediatrics
A young girl is referred to a paediatrician’s office for inability to pay attention in the classroom. The child’s teacher is concerned she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and possibly, a learning disability.
By Nicole Letourneau Canada, child development, Child well-being, childhood education, children, chilhood education, early childhood programs, environment, family, health, stress, Unicef report
Il y a quelque chose qui cloche au Canada. Un rapport publié par UNICEF en 2014 comparait la santé et le développement des enfants canadiens à ceux de 28 autres pays nantis.
By Nicole Letourneau Canada, child development, Child well-being, childhood education, children, chilhood education, early childhood programs, environment, family, health, stress, Unicef report
Something is amiss in Canada. A 2014 UNICEF report compared the health and development of children in Canada with 28 other wealthy nations. In spite of being a G8 country, Canada’s children rank number 17th, a status that has not budged in the last 10 years.
By Elizabeth Lee Ford-Jones Child health, Child poverty, Child well-being, food insecurity, Low-income children, social paediatrics, Statistics Canada, UNICEF
UNICEF’S most recent report on child well-being in rich countries ranked Canada 17 out of 29 countries assessed. Sadly, this isn’t news. The House of Commons resolved to eradicate child poverty in 1989, but in late 2013, Statistics Canada reported that 967,000 children in this country still lived in low-income homes.