|
Canada Ranked 18th Out of 35 in Child Poverty Report
Source: CTV, May 29, 2012
Excerpt: "Child poverty in Canada is more prevalent than the overall national poverty rate, according to a new report that ranks 18th among 35 industrialized nations when it comes to the gap between the two figures. The country falls even further behind when it comes to the number of children who are actually considered poor, the report released by UNICEF Canada found. The "Measuring Child Poverty" report ranked Canada 18th for countries with a higher child poverty rate than its overall rate and 24th in terms of the number of children actually growing up poor. The child poverty rate in Canada is 13.3 per cent in contrast to the country's overall poverty rate of 11.4 per cent, the study found."
Canada's Baby Bump: Country Has More Kids, More Would-Be Moms, Census Shows
Source: Winnipeg Free Press, May 29, 2012
Excerpt: "For years, women have been choosing to have children later in life, spending more time in school, starting careers and establishing personal relationships. Now, they're starting families…. Beaujot also said he suspects more working women are choosing to have children. The fertility rate went into a nosedive after the baby boom, and experts attributed the decline to more women joining the workforce…. Provinces with more working women now tend to have higher fertility rates, he added. Women are feeling more confident about the decision to have kids, in part because there are more government policies to support families, such as parental leave."
New Census Data Shows Canada Aging Quickly, Despite New Burst of Toddlers
Source: Brandon Sun, May 29, 2012
Excerpt: "Canada is becoming a nation of the aging and the very young. New census data shows Canada now has a higher proportion of seniors than ever before--a development that has crept up on society with far-reaching implications for health, finance, policy and everyday family relationships. At the same time, the latest tranche of 2011 census information shows a surprising 11-per-cent resurgence of toddlers--a burst of growth in the under-five population that is a complete reversal of trendlines a decade ago and is rejuvenating every region of the country."
Back to top>
NS: Views Sought on Kids' Futures
Source: Chronicle Herald, May 26, 2012
Excerpt: "The province wants to hear ideas about how it can give children a better start in life. More than 200 provincial programs and services related to early-years development cost about $100 million, the government says. But a nationwide study of early childhood education last fall said Nova Scotia was still coming up short. The province released a discussion paper Friday and wants to hear from the public on the issue as it develops a strategy. Premier Darrell Dexter visited a Halifax family resource centre to announce the paper and an advisory council that will help form the plan. "We already spend more than $100 million a year on programs in various forms, and the question is, are we spending that the best possible way to get the best possible result for kids?" he said. The national study, published by the Margaret & Wallace McCain Family Foundation, gave passing grades to only three provinces--Quebec, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba. Nova Scotia ranked fifth, lagging especially in co-ordination of programs, which are now spread mostly through three departments."
Government Investment in Canadian Children and Families "Worrisome", Expert Says
Source: The Straight, May 15, 2012
Excerpt: ""Canada is a generous society in terms of health care, and if you’re a child with an acute condition, you’re going to get as good care as anywhere in the world,” Lewis tells the Straight on the line from his Saskatchewan office. “But on the children’s-development side, how do we as a nation do in, say, eliminating child poverty and in making sure all kids have a good start in life, social support, and high-quality childcare? When it comes to social investment in children and their families, we’re not so good."
Back to top>
U.S.: Balancing Work and Family Hard for Dads, Too
Source: Wall Street Journal blog, May 15, 2012
Excerpt: " Men may be somewhat adrift in their role as mates, writes Susan Gregory Thomas, “but they are proving themselves to be rock-solid fathers. … Statistics bear out the trend, she says, with the Census Bureau recently reporting that 32% of fathers with working wives routinely care for their children under age 15, up from 26% in 2002…. But it’s not all paternal sunshine and lollipops, alas. “Even as men have made great strides as fathers…they can find themselves rudderless as spouses,” Thomas says. As they become more involved on the parenting front while usually maintaining their outside-the-home responsibilities, modern dads are facing the same work-and-family-balance issues that women have been dealing with for decades."
U.S.: Big Government, Better-Off Kids
Source: Slate Magazine, May 14, 2012
Excerpt: "In this time of taking a knife to state and federal budgets, big cuts in government funding for children are in process or on the way. In particular, many states have slashed funds for preschool and after-school programs, and Congress is considering more. To deal with deficits, some of these kinds of cuts may be necessary. But lest they move recklessly, legislators should think carefully about which government investments have helped kids most and why. The often-overlooked history is that children are better off today than they were 30 years ago, measured by the four yardsticks that are critical to adult success—educational attainment, criminal behavior, teen births, and alcohol and drug abuse."
Back to top>
ON: Public Board Wants Extended Care in 25 Schools This Fall
Source: Waterloo Record, May 12, 2012
Excerpt: "Nearly half of the public board’s elementary schools will have full-day kindergarten in the fall, with 25 schools offering board-run extended care for children four to seven years. Currently, there are eight schools offering board-operated, before-and-after school care. The extended care report will be discussed at a board meeting Monday night."
Have You Got What it Takes to Get Your Kid Into Daycare?
Source: Globe and Mail, May 12, 2012
Excerpt: "Most came with sleeping bags and lawn chairs, a few comforts to make the sidewalk a more hospitable place while waiting in line overnight. But these weren’t teens camping out for concert tickets – they were parents, doing what parents in Toronto do to get their kids into the right daycare. Most came with sleeping bags and lawn chairs, a few comforts to make the sidewalk a more hospitable place while waiting in line overnight. But these weren’t teens camping out for concert tickets – they were parents, doing what parents in Toronto do to get their kids into the right daycare. Word had gotten out that Howard Park Children’s Centre, near High Park, would be accepting new daycare applications starting at 7:30 this past Monday morning. The first to line up came at 4:30 on Sunday afternoon, angling for one of only six coveted spots."
Back to top>
Learning to Self-Regulate
Source: Moose Jaw Times Herald, May 10, 2012
Excerpt: "What this means, Shanker said, is a newborn baby goes through a period of rapid growth in brain size and synapses development throughout early childhood. One of the developments that occurs after birth, Shanker said, is the integration of all five senses. While a baby can see, hear, smell and feel, it is not yet able to merge those sensations and associate, for example, the sounds of what one is saying with the image of the person saying it. While most children will learn to integrate the senses and hook it into the motor system, Shanker said there are children with problems achieving this integration, many of whom are in the classroom."
Canada's Working Moms Still Earning Less, Doing More Than Dads
Source: CBC, May 10, 2012
Excerpt: "In recent years the focus has been on statistics showing women outperforming men in school, graduating in greater numbers than men from university and increasingly becoming the primary breadwinners in their families. So it is easy to forget that women in Canada still earn on average 25 per cent less than men do and do the bulk of housework and child care, according to the most recent figures from Statistics Canada."
Back to top>
Federal Budget 2012: Women’s Rights Suffer Significant Setbacks Under Harper Majority
Source: CUPE, May 8, 2012 (news release)
Excerpt: "The federal government promised that one of the priorities of the federal budget budget would be “supporting families and communities”. Unfortunately, the Harper Conservatives have failed miserably on this front, especially when it comes to the women and girls of Canada…. This budget did absolutely nothing to address the dire need to establish a national child care program. One of the key factors to preventing child poverty and stimulating the Canadian economy is for women and mothers to be active participants in the workforce. While many women participate in the paid workforce, mothers of young children (12 and under) are unemployed or underemployed because they have no affordable, quality care for their children. But instead of supporting working mothers, this government offers meager payouts for families with young children, covering only a fraction of the cost of child care for most Canadian families."
NL: Study Aims to Ease Kids’ Transition From Pre-School to Kindergarten
Source: Northern Pen, May 8, 2012
Excerpt: "A new project aims to ease childrens’ transition from early childhood learning programs into kindergarten. The provincial government has partnered with the Margaret & Wallace McCain Family Foundation and the Jimmy Pratt Foundation to study ways of integrating early childhood learning programs in Newfoundland and Labrador, in an effort to create a smooth transition to formal schooling. That’s according to a Department of Education news release. The study will be conducted through Memorial University and will look at various early childhood programs through the province to determine best practices for developing a seamless transition to kindergarten."
Back to top>
ON: 'Caps' Mean Special Education Students Not Getting Help, People for Education Report Says
Source: Toronto Star, May 7, 2012
Excerpt: "Wait lists for special education may be down, but that’s in part because principals are only allowed to assess a small number of children each year, says a startling new look at services for Ontario’s most vulnerable students…. The report, based on a survey of 1,108 schools across the province, said that while special education wait lists have dropped to 35,000 this year from 46,000 in 2000, about half of principals in both elementary and secondary schools say there’s a cap on the number they’re allowed to assess in the first place."
Train the Brain
Source: Toronto Sun, May 6, 2012
Excerpt: "When it comes to their kids' education parents should think like professional athletes, says a leading Canadian neuroscientist."Just as hockey players prepare their bodies for the season, we should help to prepare our kids' brains even before they begin elementary school," says Dr. Sylvain Moreno of Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute in Toronto. Moreno is one of several Canadian scientists doing work in neuro-education, an area that stresses that a child's capacity to learn can be as critical as what he or she is taught. In his research he has found that training children in one area can affect seemingly unrelated higher order processes such as language, memory and intelligence."
Back to top>
German Family Policy: Pay to Stay at Home
Source: The Economist, May 5, 2012
Excerpt: "Critics call it a "hearth bonus" or "keep-your-kids-out-of-school money". The government prefers Betreuungsgeld ("child-care benefit"). Few of its ideas are as contentious as a planned €150 ($199) monthly payment to parents who do not put their children into crèches. Angela Merkel, the Christian Democrat chancellor, defends this as “an essential part of our policy of freedom of choice.” But it seems to contradict much of what she stands for."
NS: Daycares Hold a Virtual Strike
Source: The Vanguard, May 1, 2012
Excerpt: " The Nova Scotia Child Care Association (NSCCA) Worthy Wage Day was organized to bring attention to the importance of childcare centres and the need to improve wages, benefits, professional development opportunities and working conditions for early childhood educators. MacKinnon-LeBlanc says that although her centre receives an enhancement grant, it’s not enough because she hires more staff to assist with special needs children than the recommended ratio."
Back to top>
Raising Kids in Tough Times
Source: Vancouver Sun, April 27, 2012
Excerpt: "These are not easy times for young families: the job market is tight, the price of housing is sky high, incomes are not keeping up with inflation and post-secondary education leaves the average person about $25,000 in debt before his or her working life even begins. To get a sense of how families are coping with the stresses of raising children in tough times, The Vancouver Sun spoke with several Metro Vancouver parents with children under the age of five. Many felt their children’s futures don’t look as bright as their own once did. And while all hope their children will get a good education and do well in life, there was a common theme of downplaying the importance of material goods and consumption."
It Takes $19.14 an Hour--From Both Parents--To Raise a Family
Source: Vancouver Sun, April 26, 2012
Excerpt: " For families with young children, the costs of basic necessities like food, rent and child care quickly add up. Even with full-time work year round, both parents in a family of four must earn at least $19.14 an hour to escape severe financial stress in Metro Vancouver. This is the Metro Vancouver living wage rate for 2012, according to a new report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, First Call: B.C. Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition, and the Metro Vancouver Living Wage for Families Campaign."
Back to top>
|
