Chapter 1 - Introduction

1.1 The Importance of Monitoring Child Well-Being

There is a broad growing consensus on the importance of the early years. What happens to children from birth to 5 years of age sets the stage for how they will fare in the future aspects of their lives. Experts and decision makers agree that it is important to monitor children's well-being and development to help build awareness and understanding of how young children in Canada are developing during their earliest years. Ongoing monitoring helps to identify areas where children and their families may need more or better integrated support. Monitoring also helps to build a picture of how to design and deliver services and supports for children, families and communities in a way that is mutually reinforcing, eliminates gaps, and strengthens the continuum of services and supports provided to families, and is an important tool for policy development.

1.2 What is "Child Well-Being"?

The well-being of children from birth to 5 years of age can be assessed by looking at several factors, such as overall health and safety, and motor, social and cognitive development.

It is increasingly recognized that many of the important determinants of future well-being for children are shaped in early childhood. Experts agree that "healthy children emerge most often from healthy families, and healthy families are in turn promoted by healthy communities."² Developing a broad understanding of the factors that influence child development can help us build the supportive environments children need to thrive.

One of the key influences on child development is the family. Parents, relatives and caregivers are a primary support for children and have a major role in supporting their development. Children are born with unique characteristics from their parents that can and do influence their well-being. The majority of children spend their formative years within a family environment, where most of their foundational development occurs.

In turn, families are often shaped by the communities in which they live. Whether based on geography, ethnicity or interests (e.g., religious groups, parent groups), communities provide a foundation for family life that can have a profound effect on the well-being of children.

1.3 The Early Childhood Development Agreement — Reporting on Young Children's Well-Being

The September 2000 Early Childhood Development Agreement, as agreed to by First Ministers,³ commits governments to report regularly on indicators of young children's well-being. In response, federal/provincial/territorial (F/P/T) governments identified a common set of indicators that provide information on the physical health and early development of young children in Canada. While incorporating data from multiple sources, this common set of indicators is based primarily on data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), a biennial survey designed to broaden our knowledge of children in Canada, and in particular young children. To correspond with the availability of data, participating governments⁴ agreed to release a report on young children's well-being for their jurisdiction biennially. Release of these reports by all participating governments will mark the third time that governments are reporting to the public on a set of jointly agreed indicators of young children's well-being.

1.4 The Government of Canada's Report on Young Children's Well-Being

This is the Government of Canada's third report to Canadians on young children's well-being. This report provides a factual discussion of the common set of indicators of young children's well-being identified by F/P/T governments, supplemented by additional indicators of children's physical health, as well as measures of key family and community influences on child well-being. Given the commitment to continuously improve the quality of reporting over time, additional indicators beyond those presented in the first and second Government of Canada reports, have been added so as to provide a more comprehensive picture of child well-being.

It is important to note that this is a monitoring report and does not attempt to discuss possible relationships between the indicators presented or with other external factors. Additional research is required to determine the factors that may influence the movement of the indicators presented.

As a new addition to the report, a technical annex describes the various measures used from the NLSCY to develop the indicators presented.

² Ross, D. P., K. Scott and M. A. Kelly (1996). "Overview: Children in Canada in the 1990s." Growing Up in Canada — National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth . Ottawa: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Statistics Canada.

³ While the Government of Quebec supports the general principles of the Early Childhood Development Agreement, it did not participate in developing this initiative because it intends to preserve its sole responsibility on social matters. However, Quebec receives its share of federal funding and the Government of Quebec is making major investments in programs and services for families and children.

⁴ The NLSCY currently collects data only for children living in the provinces. As a result of the lack of comparable data the Territories are not required to release reports on young children's well-being but can choose to report on available indicators, if desired.