The Well-Being of Canada's Young Children - Government of Canada Report 2008

Chapter 4 - How Are Young Children in Canada Developing?

Highlights

The profile of young children in Canada reveals that, in 2004/05:

  • 83.6% of young Canadian children from birth to 3 years of age showed signs of average to advanced motor and social development.
  • 85.3% of children from 2 to 5 years of age did not display signs associated with emotional problems-anxiety.
  • 93.4% of children from 2 to 5 years of age did not display behaviours associated with hyperactivity or inattention.
  • 85.8% of children from 2 to 5 years of age did not display signs associated with physical aggression or conduct problems.
  • 93.7% of children from 2 to 5 years of age did not display signs associated with indirect aggression.
  • 85.4% of children from birth to 3 years of age displayed age-appropriate personal and social behaviour.
  • 86.5% of children from 4 to 5 years of age displayed average to advanced levels of verbal development.
  • 83.7% of children from 4 to 5 years of age displayed average to advanced levels of number development.
  • 85.2% of children from 4 to 5 years of age displayed average to advanced levels of cognitive development.

4.1 Motor and Social Development

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

In 2004/05, 83.6% of children from birth to 3 years of age displayed average or advanced levels of motor and social development, a slight decline from the 2002/03 rate of 86.4%. Females were more likely to be classified at this level of development than their male counterparts (86.7% compared to 80.5% for 2004/05), although there continues to be great fluctuation in the rates for both sexes.

Figure 6: Percentage of Children from Birth to 3 Years of Age by Level of Motor and Social Development, 1998/99 - 2004/05
Text description of Figure 6

There are also notable differences depending on where children live. Males living in rural areas were more likely to display advanced levels of motor and social development than their counterparts living in urban centres (10.4% compared to 7.8% in 2004/05). By contrast, females living in urban centres were more likely to display advanced levels of motor and social development than females living in rural areas (13.1% compared to 12.3%, in 2004/05).

Why is this important?

Motor development includes two main skills – gross and fine. Gross motor skills include the ability to lift one's head, crawl and walk. They are the foundation for developing other skills including fine motor skills. A child with fine motor skills can perform a variety of hand-eye coordination tasks including colouring a picture and picking up small objects.41 Children who have lower levels of motor and social development are more likely to have difficulty crawling and walking unassisted and less likely to be able to clearly communicate wants and desires.42 More specifically, children who showed delays in motor and social development at ages two and three were more likely to exhibit delays in the acquisition of vocabulary.43

School readiness requires sufficient physical coordination to complete common kindergarten and grade one tasks such as controlling a pencil and turning the pages of a book. A child who lacks age-appropriate motor and social skills may experience difficulties with such tasks, leading to a negative self-image. This negative self-image can result in withdrawal from classroom activities, and as a result, loss of opportunities to practice and learn.44

4.2 Emotional Health

4.2.1 Emotional Problems-Anxiety

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

In 2004/05, 85.3% of children from 2 to 5 years of age did not display signs associated with emotional problems–anxiety, down from 86.2% in 1998/99 and 86.5% in 2000/01 but higher than 83.3% in 2002/03. There continues to be very little gender differences across years.

2004/05 represents the first time children living in rural areas were more likely to display signs associated with emotional problems–anxiety than their counterparts living in urban centres - 16% compared to 14.5%.

4.2.2 Hyperactivity/Inattention

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

While over 90% of children continue to not display signs associated with hyperactivity/inattention, the proportion who do display signs of hyperactivity/inattention is on the rise. In 2004/05, 6.6% of young children displayed such behaviours compared with 5.5% in 2002/03 and 6.1% in 2000/01.

Males are more likely to displays signs of hyperactivity-inattention than females. In 2004/05, the proportion of males reported to display these behaviours was more than double that of females — 8.9% compared to 4.2%.
Figure 7: Percentage of Children from 2 to 5 Years of age Showing Hyperactivity/Inattention Problems, 2000/01 - 2004/05
Text description of Figure 7

4.2.3 Aggression

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

The NLSCY measures two types of aggression: physical aggression (e.g. bullying, being mean and fighting) and indirect aggression (e.g. taking revenge, telling secrets, spreading gossip).

When comparing these two types of aggression, young children are more likely to display signs of physical aggression. In 2004/05, 85.8% of children from 2 to 5 years of age did not show signs associated with physical aggression and conduct problems while 93.7% did not show signs associated with indirect aggression.

Among the 14.2% who showed signs of physical aggression, young males continue to exhibit this behaviour more than females.

For indirect aggression, between 1998/99 and 2002/03, females showed more signs of this behaviour than their male counterparts. However, each year the gap narrowed until 2004/05 when an equal number (6.3% respectively) of males and females showed signs of indirect aggression.

Figure 8: Percentage of Children from 2 to 5 Years of Age Not Showing Signs of Physical and Indirect Aggression, 1998/99 - 2004/05
Text description of Figure 8

Children living in rural areas continue to show higher signs of physical aggression than their urban counterparts, with the opposite trend for indirect aggression.

4.2.4 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. Children with emotional problems-anxiety tend to have low self-esteem and have problems bonding with people around them. Young children are considered to be hyperactive if they have a higher than average motor activity, have problems paying attention and are impulsive. Physically aggressive children are often mean and behave as bullies while children exhibiting indirect aggression tend to gossip, seek revenge and tell secrets.45 Children who exhibit these behaviours are often rejected by their peers and excluded from group activities.46

Children are emotionally ready for school when they have self-confidence and a positive approach to new experiences. The majority of children are able to balance their curiosity and an eagerness to try new experiences with an age-appropriate ability to reflect before acting. Children who lack self-confidence and spend time dealing with the fear of failure are reluctant to try new activities and may miss out on learning opportunities. Children who are hyperactive may fail to grasp all aspects of a task and as a result not fully understand what is required of them.47 The behaviour problems exhibited by young children upon entering school tend to persist throughout the schooling years and these children are at risk for low school achievement and disaffection from school.48

4.3 Social Knowledge and Competence

4.3.1 Personal-Social Score

… Over 85% of children from birth to 3 years of age display age-appropriate personal and social behaviour

In 2004/05, 85.4% of children from birth to 3 years of age displayed age-appropriate personal and social behaviour, down from 88.5% in 2000/01. Females were more likely than males to display age-appropriate personal-social behaviour — 88.9% compared to 82.1% in 2004/05.

In 2004/05, there was a difference between children living in rural and urban areas. Children in rural areas were significantly more likely to display age-appropriate personal and social behaviour (88.5% rural compared to 85% urban). In particular, females living in rural areas are more likely to display age-appropriate personal and social behaviour (91.8% females in rural areas compared to 88.5% of their urban counterparts).

Why is this important?

Personal-social behaviour measures how infants interact with themselves, with strangers, with their parent and with toys. From an early age children develop relationships. Infants share activities with peers while toddlers play games, imitate each other and start to alternate roles in play. Between three and five years of age, there is an increase in prosocial behaviours. Children who have difficulties forming peer relationships may be rejected from the group which may lead to negative behaviours towards the child such as controlling and dominating a child, as well as excessive teasing.49

4.4 Cognitive Learning and Language Communication

Figure 9: Percentage of Children from 4 to 5 Years of Age by Score on the PPVT-R, Who Am I?, and Number Knowledge Assessment, 2000/01 - 2004/05
Text description of Figure 9

4.4.1 Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test — Revised

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

In 2004/05, 86.5% of children from 4 to 5 years of age displayed average or advanced levels of verbal development, up from 1998/99 (84.1%) and 2000/01 (85.5%) but slightly lower than 2002/03 (86.9%).

In the period from 1998/99 to 2002/03, females consistently outperformed males in their ability to hear and understand vocabulary. This changed in 2004/05 when 86.8% of males displayed average or advanced levels of verbal development compared to 86.0% of females.

Females living in rural areas continued to display higher levels of verbal development than their urban counterparts. In 2004/05, 89.2% of females living in rural areas displayed average or advanced levels of verbal development compared to 85.6% of females living in urban centres. For males, the opposite is true with 87.1% of males living in urban centres displaying average or advanced levels of verbal development compared to 84.0% of those living in rural areas.

4.4.2 “Who Am I?” Assessment

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

In 2004/05, 85.2% of children from 4 to 5 years of age had average or advanced scores on the “Who Am I?” assessment of cognitive skills, down slightly from 85.7% in 2002/03. Of those children, however, a greater number had advanced scores.

… while internationally

A 2002 study using the “Who am I?” assessment compared the ability of six year old children in five countries to complete two tasks: understand symbols, and copy shapes and symbols. Overall, Canadian children scored higher than children in Sweden and India but lower than children in Hong Kong and Australia. Among the two tasks, Canadian children demonstrated a slightly greater ability to understand symbols.50

4.4.3 Number Knowledge Assessment

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

In 2004/05, 83.7% of children from 4 to 5 years of age had average or advanced scores on the Number Knowledge assessment, down slightly from 2002/03 (84.3%). Females consistently outperformed males. In 2004/05, 85.7% of females scored average or advanced compared with 81.7% of males. Children living in urban centres continue to score higher than their rural counterparts – 84.1% in urban centres compared to 79.1% in rural areas in 2004/05.

4.4.4 Examining the Mean Scores for Cognitive Development

To further explore the trends in cognitive development the means were examined.

As demonstrated by Figure 10, on average, children's ability to hear and understand vocabulary has slightly increased between 2002/03 and 2004/05. The gap in the average score for males and females has narrowed, with males experiencing more success.

It is also interesting to note that while the average score in children's cognitive development (based on Who am I?) has increased (see Figure 11) between 2000/01 and 2004/05, the average score in number development has decreased (see Figure12). Therefore, while the majority of 4 and 5 year olds continue to do well in their cognitive development, overall numeracy does not appear to be as strong as literacy according to NLSCY measures.

Figure 10: PPVT-R by Gender, 2000/01 - 2004/05
Text description of Figure 10

Figure 11: Who Am I? by Gender, 2000/01 - 2004/05
Text description of Figure 11

Figure 12: Number Knowledge by Gender, 2000/01 - 2004/05
Text description of Figure 12

4.4.5 Why is this important?

Learning to talk is one of the most visible and important achievements of early childhood. New language tools mean new opportunities for social understanding, for learning about the world, for sharing experience, pleasures and needs. Literacy and pre-literacy activities can help further children's language competencies in both the preschool years and later schooling.51

Words are symbols. They allow the representation of something that is not present, or may never have existed, as well as indicating something that can be seen or experienced. The ability to use symbols to represent something forms the basis for reading and arithmetic.52

As children enter school, they are expected to use their newly developed language skills as tools for learning and increasingly for social negotiation. The important role of spoken and written communication in school-aged children's lives suggests that individual challenges in these skills may entail risks in terms of broader academic and psychosocial competence.53

When children have difficulty understanding others and expressing themselves, psychological and emotional problems can ensue. Children with language impairments have difficulty entering into peer groups and are often excluded, giving them less opportunity to learn and practice the social skills they need for peer interaction.54 These children are at greater risk for later behavioural problems, academic difficulties, learning disabilities and anxiety disorders.55

 
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