Early childhood development makes economic sense, says Cdn Pediatric Society report

A new report from the Canadian Pediatric Society adds further support to the call for more investment in early learning and child care.

Are We Doing Enough? A status report on Canadian public policy and child and youth health cites the economic rationale behind early learning and care, saying the return to society on money invested ranges from $4-8 for every $1 invested.

It also cites the high costs and lost productivity associated with child poverty as well as mental illness, which can be prevented or at least treated more effectively and less expensively through early intervention rather than later in life.

The status report also rates each province and the federal government on a range of issues, including publicly funded immunization programs, measures to prevent kids from exposure to smoking, newborn hearing tests, enhanced visits to check babies’ developments at 18 months, pediatric health human resource strategies, child poverty reduction, and child and youth advocates.

In some cases, Saskatchewan fares well. It was rated “good” or “excellent” on immunization, the child and youth advocate and limiting kids’ exposure to smoking. It received “fair” on newborn hearing checks, and in areas such as 18-month baby visits and child poverty reduction it was rated as “poor.”

The federal government was rated as “good” in areas such as immunization and limiting exposure to smoking, but, most notably, it received “poor” in areas such as early childhood development and early learning and child care.

The Canadian Pediatric Society report looks at other health and safety issues that affect children and youth. It also points to immunization as an example of a public health effort that successfully reduced the spread of infectious diseases, once the leading cause of death in Canada.

The Canadian Pediatric Society lists 10 ways you can be an advocate for child and youth health:

1. Send Are We Doing Enough? to the public health units, family physicians and other health professionals in your community. Ask your colleagues to do the same.

2. Write an op-ed piece or a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. The report includes a sample to get you started. If you feel it is appropriate, discuss the issue with children and youth, and ask them to write letters to the appropriate provincial or federal Minister. Handwritten letters from children require special attention by ministers' staffs and therefore have a greater impact.

3. Tell your MP, MPP and local Medical Officer of Health about the status report. Click here for links to provincial/territorial and
federal government contact information.

4. Organize an event. Work with a children's or social advocacy group to raise awareness about child and youth health in your community through a creative event. Have children paint pictures of what health looks like to them, or ask older children and youth to perform skits about what makes children healthy. Be sure to invite local politicians and the media to the presentation.

5. Pay a visit to your local MP or MPP/MLA. Bring a copy of Are We Doing Enough? with you, and focus on the one issue you are most passionate about. If you can't choose, you may want to focus on something broad, such as poverty or early childhood development.

6. Make a brief presentation. Sometimes you get an opportunity to do a brief presentation on an issue of choice. This may be with a local politician, at a local school board, or among other health care colleagues. Use Are We Doing Enough? as a starting point to educate communities on how they can make a difference in child and youth health.

7. Suggest that people volunteer for a child/youth health organization by posting a notice in your waiting room. Offer suggestions of local organizations you value or help them search out a local group through Volunteer Canada or another volunteer matching organization.

8. Focus on Aboriginal child and youth health. Aboriginal children and youth suffer ill-health at far greater rates than most Canadian children and youth. Make contact with a local Aboriginal group and ask what you can do to help, and encourage your legislators to take action.

9. Help spread the word by sharing Are We Doing Enough? on Twitter, Facebook, on LinkedIn or by e-mail with your colleagues and friends. On Twitter use the hashtag #Cdnkidshealth. You can use sample updates from the report.

10. Look for opportunities throughout the year to honour children and youth, and advocate for their health and wellness.

By Mike Chouinard, kidSKAN managing editor. He can be reached at mike.chouinard@usask.ca.