Chapter 3 - The Well-Being of Canada's Young Children: Government of Canada Report 2006

How Are Young Children in Canada Developing?

3.1 Motor and Social Development

... The majority of young children display average to advanced motor and social development

In 2002/03, 86.4% of children from birth to 3 years of age demonstrated average or advanced motor and social development, according to their parents. Fewer males than females were classified at this level of development. For males, the proportion fluctuated between 82.1% in 1998/99, 85.2% in 2000/01 and 84.2% in 2002/03. For females, the proportion also varied, from 90.2% in 1998/99 to 91.2% in 2000/01 and 88.8% in 2002/03.

Why is this important?

The NLSCY measures various dimensions of the motor and social development of young children, which are significant determinants of the future abilities of children in school and other learning environments. Children who had lower levels of motor and social development were more likely to have difficulty doing such activities as crawling/walking unassisted and less likely to be able to clearly communicate wants/desires. These measures help provide an overall picture of the "school readiness" of young children, which is defined as the "set of skills which children are expected to possess when they enter kindergarten or Grade one."⁷ While emphasis is often placed on academic, vocabulary and cognitive skills development, children's interpersonal and behavioural skills are also considered important in determining the readiness of the children as they progress through the early years of education.⁸

3.2 Emotional Health

... The majority of children 2 to 5 years of age do not display signs associated with emotional problems—anxiety

In 2002/03, 83.3% of children 2 to 5 years of age did not display signs associated with emotional problems—anxiety. This percentage was down from 86.2% in 1998/99 and 86.5% in 2000/01.

Children living in rural areas are less likely to display signs associated with emotional problems—anxiety than their counterparts living in urban centres. In 2002/03, 12.7% of children aged 2 to 5 living in rural areas were reported to have emotional problems—anxiety, compared with 17.2% of children aged 2 to 5 living in urban centres.

Why is this important?

The emotional health of young children is an important indicator of well-being that ties directly to many areas of their development, including their ability to build healthy self-esteem, bond with people around them, and learn tasks both within and outside of formal academic settings. The presence of emotional problems in young children under the age of six can be problematic as the children continue to develop, when these problems can reappear as mental health disorders. Research indicates that, in many cases, the onset of troublesome behaviours in childhood — often characterized by antisocial behaviour, conduct problems (e.g., gets into fights) and high anxiety — may lead to a lifetime of serious psychosocial disturbances, as well as a greater likelihood of criminal and substance abuse problems in adolescence and adulthood.⁹

Young children who are fearful and reluctant to engage in new activities are likely to miss out on opportunities experienced by more positive children. Conversely, those children who are classified as impulsive may fail to perceive aspects of a task and, as a result, may exhibit difficulties in fully understanding what is required of them in future situations.¹⁰ These types of behaviour are characteristic of emotional or anxiety problems in children, and if left untreated can lead to problems in adolescence.

3.3 Hyperactivity

… The vast majority of children 2 to 5 years of age do not display behaviours associated with hyperactivity or inattention

In 2002/03, 94.5% of children 2 to 5 years of age did not display behaviours associated with hyperactivity or inattention. Among children who did display such behaviours, males are predominant. In 2002/03, the proportion of males reported to display these behaviours was more than double that of females — 7.4% compared to 3.5% . This difference was more pronounced than in 2000/01, when the corresponding percentages were 7.5% and 4.6%.

According to parental reports, male children living in urban settings display more behaviours associated with hyperactivity and inattention than their counterparts living in rural areas. In 2002/03, 7.7% of males living in urban centres were reported to display these signs, compared with 5.1% of rural males. The reverse is true for females. In 2002/03, 4.9% of females living in rural areas were reported to have hyperactive or attention problems compared with 3.3% of urban females.

Why is this important?

Hyperactivity in young children is often characterized by inattention, impulsivity and higher than average motor activity. Many of the questions associated with these indicators in the NLSCY attempt to measure whether the child exhibits difficulties concentrating on tasks or is easily distracted, acts impulsively or without thinking, and has problems waiting for his or her turn in peer and social settings.

A number of environmental factors can contribute to hyperactivity among young children, including family type (single-parent, dual parent) and family income. Family structure, in particular female lone parent and step family types, is shown to predict hyperactivity among young children.¹¹ Early recognition of and intervention for hyperactivity in young children living in one-parent families has been shown to have positive effects on their development later in life.

3.4 Social Knowledge and Competence

... The majority of young children do not show signs of aggressive behaviour

In 2002/03, 85.4% of children from 2 to 5 years of age did not show signs associated with physical aggression and conduct problems. Among the 14.6% who did, the latest data indicate that, overall, young males continue to show higher levels of aggressive behaviour than females. The NLSCY data from 1998/99 to 2002/03 confirm this trend, but the gender gap is narrowing. Young females living in urban centres had an increased high aggression score in 2002/03 — up to 13.1% from 9.7% in 2000/01 — while high aggression scores for young rural males and females have declined somewhat since 1998/99.

Why is this important?

Research has shown that young children who fail to develop age-appropriate strategies for regulating their aggressive behaviour are at an increased risk of developing chronic antisocial or aggression characteristics as they move through childhood.¹² Children who exhibit high levels of physical aggression, opposition or lack of cooperation are more likely to experience rejection by peers in both social and educational spheres.¹³ This type of aggressive and disruptive behaviour can be one of the most enduring dysfunctions in young children and, if not addressed, can exert substantial personal and emotional costs to children, their families and society in general.¹⁴

3.5 Personal-Social Score

…. Over 80% of children from birth to 3 years of age display age-appropriate personal and social behaviour

In 2002/03, 84.3% of children from birth to 3 years of age displayed age-appropriate personal and social behaviour. This is a decline from 2000/01, when the percentage was 88.5%. Fewer males than females displayed this type of behaviour — 79.7% for males versus 89.1% for females.

For all categories, the percentage of children displaying age-appropriate personal and social behaviour was higher in 2000/01 than in 2002/03. While the decrease was only slight for young urban females during this time period, young rural females showed a decline from 93% to 88.7%. The decline for young males in both urban and rural areas was more pronounced: from 86.0% in 2000/01 to 79.1% in 2002/03 in urban centres, and 90.6% to 84.7% in rural areas.

Why is this important?

Personal-social behaviour is one of several measures of behaviour within the NLSCY, and focuses on age-appropriate behaviours for children from birth to 3 years of age. Behaviours that are captured under this indicator can include how the baby interacts with itself or others, with parents and with inanimate objects, such as toys. These emerging social interaction skills are important as young children develop early peer relationships. At this early stage, behavioural preferences in the child will emerge, and can lead to positive friendships in early schooling that are based on concrete exchanges and mutual play activities.¹⁵

3.6 Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test — Revised

… The majority of children 4 to 5 years of age exhibit an ability to hear and understand vocabulary

In 2002/03, 86.9% of children 4 to 5 years of age displayed average or advanced levels of verbal development. This percentage was up from 1998/99 (84.1%) and also from 2000/01 (85.5%). In the period from 1998/99 to 2002/03, females consistently outperformed males in their ability to hear and understand vocabulary. In 1998/99, 84.7% of females displayed average or advanced levels of verbal development, increasing steadily to 89.5% in 2002/03. For males, the rate has gone from 83.5% in 1998/99 to 84.4% in 2002/03. The largest increase has been among urban females, with scores increasing from 84.1% in 1998/99 to 86.8% in 2000/01, to a high of 89.7% in 2002/03.

Why is this important?

The "Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Revised" (PPVT-R) is designed to measure receptive or hearing vocabulary, and is a significant predictor of school readiness for young children entering their kindergarten years. In general, the test helps to gauge the child's ability to communicate, learn and integrate into society. Research has shown that children's language skills (for example, the ability to name letters) and vocabulary size influence how much they benefit from classroom instruction in kindergarten and grade one, and are also related to later academic achievement.¹⁶

There are a number of factors that could contribute to higher or lower scores on the PPVT-R. It has been shown that increased maternal education can have a positive effect on young children, with fewer experiencing delays in their vocabulary skills.¹⁷ Other research has highlighted disparities among children in different income brackets, with children in low-income families being more likely to exhibit delays in their vocabulary development (35%) than their higher-income counterparts (10%).¹⁸

3.7 "Who Am I?" Assessment

... Over 85% of children 4 to 5 years of age display average to advanced levels of cognitive development

In 2002/03, 85.7% of children 4 to 5 years of age scored average or advanced on the "Who Am I?" assessment of cognitive skills. Females have outperformed males: in 2000/01, 91.1% of females scored average or advanced on the "Who am I?" assessment, compared with 78.6% of their male counterparts.

Why is this important?

The "Who Am I?" assessment is an additional measure of the developmental level of young children, and involves the completion of specific copying and writing tasks in a workbook that is provided to the child. The copying tasks within the NLSCY assess the child's ability to conceptualize and reconstruct geometric shapes, whereas the writing tasks examine the ability of the child to understand and use symbolic representations such as numbers, letters and words. As a non-verbal assessment measure, "Who Am I?" can be used to assess children whose knowledge of English or French is limited.

These tasks are part of a general cognitive skill set that has been shown to be strongly associated with subsequent school achievement. Because the results are valid across various cultural and linguistic groups in Canada, this indicator allows a better understanding of the cognitive abilities of all children, overcoming the language barriers inherent in other tests. The skills required for early academic instruction include the "ability to understand similarities and differences between groups of objects and the ability to remember and recite back specific pieces of information."¹⁹ As such, copying and writing skills, in combination with other motor and social determinants of young children's development, remains a strong predictor of future academic success.

3.8 Number Knowledge Assessment

... The majority of children 4 to 5 years of age comprehend numbers

In 2002/03, 84.3% of children 4 to 5 years of age scored average or advanced on the Number Knowledge assessment, down slightly from 2000/01 (85.3%). Females consistently outperformed males. In 2002/03, 86.5% of females scored average or advanced compared with 82.1% of males. In 2000/01, 87.1% of females scored average or advanced compared with 83.5% of males.

Why is this important?

The purpose of the NLSCY's Number Knowledge assessment is to determine a child's ability to understand numbers, as a measure of cognitive development. The assessment is based on the premise that children's understanding of numbers occurs in stages, and that children go through distinct developmental stages as they grow and begin to move through the formal education system. Children who exhibit difficulties mastering the basic concepts associated with numbers, such as the ability to count without having to think about it or to quantify a small set of objects, are likely to have more trouble understanding advanced concepts as they move through kindergarten and grade one.²⁰

The Number Knowledge assessment, along with the other measures of cognitive skills already discussed, is an important indicator of child development and school readiness. Children who lack many of these cognitive skills at the time of school entry have been shown to exhibit a number of social-behavioural problems, including interrupting classroom learning opportunities, being physically aggressive toward other children and bullying peers.²¹

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⁷ Favaro, P., E. Gray and K. Russell (2003). Readiness to Learn: Early Development Instrument (EDI): Dixie Bloor Neighbourhoods, Mississauga, Ontario: Understanding the Early Years. Mississauga: Success by Six Community Coalition of Peel Region.

⁸ Ibid.

⁹ Offord, D. and E. Lipman (1996). "Emotional and Behavioural Problems." Growing Up in Canada: National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Ottawa: Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada.

¹⁰ Doherty, G. (1997). Zero to Six: The Basis for School Readiness. Ottawa: Human Resources Development Canada, Applied Research Branch.

¹¹ Kerr, D. (2004). "Family Transformations and the Well-Being of Children: Recent Evidence from Canadian Longitudinal Data." Journal of Comparative Family Structures. 34(1): 73—91.

¹² Keenan, K. (2002). "The Development and Socialization of Aggression During the First Five Years of Life." R. Tremblay, R. Barr and R. Peters (eds.) Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. 2002: 1—6. Montreal: Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development. Available at: http://www.excellence-earlychildhood.ca/documents/KeenanANGxp.pdf.

¹³ Doherty, G. (1997). Zero to Six: The Basis for School Readiness. Ottawa: Human Resources Development Canada, Applied Research Branch.

¹⁴ Lochman, J. E. (2003). "Programs and Services Effective in Reducing Aggression in Young Children." R. Tremblay, R. Barr and R. Peters (eds.) Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. 2003: 1—6. Montreal: Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development. Available at: http://www.excellence-earlychildhood.ca/documents/LochmanANGxp.pdf.

¹⁵ Boivin, M. (2005). "The Origin of Peer Relationship Difficulties in Early Childhood and Their Impact on Children's Psychosocial Adjustment and Development." R. Tremblay, R. Barr and R. Peters (eds.) Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. 2005: 1-7. Montreal: Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development. Available at: http://www.excellence-earlychildhood.ca/documents/BoivinANGxp.pdf.

¹⁶ Doherty, G. (1997). Zero to Six: The Basis for School Readiness. Ottawa: Human Resources Development Canada, Applied Research Branch.

¹⁷ Willms, J. D. (1996). "Indicators of Mathematics Achievement in Canadian Elementary Schools."
Growing Up in Canada: National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Ottawa: Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada.

¹⁸ Ross, D. P. and P. Roberts (1999). Income and Child Well-being: A New Perspective on the Poverty Debate. Ottawa: Canadian Council on Social Development and Human Resources Development Canada, Applied Research Branch.

¹⁹ Doherty, G. (1997). Zero to Six: The Basis for School Readiness. Ottawa: Human Resources Development Canada, Applied Research Branch.

²⁰ Ibid.

²¹ Ibid.