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December 1997
The Progress of Canada's Children 1997
Family Life
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Family structure is changing slowly over time. In the past few decades, the number of children living with lone parents has grown. There has also been a large increase in the number of children born out of wedlock since 1980. Fertility rates have continued to drop since 1992, although average family size has not changed appreciably in the past two years.
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In nearly half of two-parent families, both parents work outside the home. In 1994 and 1995, both parents of 45 per cent of the children living in two-parent families worked full-time outside the home. The percentage of children with lone parents who worked full-time dropped slightly, while the parents' rate of part-time work increased.
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About one-tenth of children under the age of 12 live with a parent who has a disability that restricts daily activities in some way.
Economic Security
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Unemployment rates are down, but child poverty is up. Although the rate of unemployment dropped, the number of poor children rose to 1.47 million in 1995 from 1.36 million in 1994, bringing the proportion of poor children under age 18 to 21 per cent
from 19.5 per cent.
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Families' average after-tax incomes continued to fall. The average after-tax income of families with children dropped from $43,700 in 1994, to $43,500 in 1995. During the same period, the estimated costs of raising children rose.
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Poverty negatively affects family functioning and children's school results. The 1994 National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) indicates that rates of family dysfunction and parental depression are higher in poor families than in
more affluent families, and that poor children do not have the same scholastic and verbal skills entering school as their non-poor peers.
Physical Safety
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Crime rates have dropped in Canada for five consecutive years, and the majority of children live in neighbourhoods that their parents consider to be safe. However, one in four children lives in an area that is unsafe after dark according to their parents.
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Air pollution and rates of asthma have increased. The increase in air pollutants since the early 1990s is likely one of the reasons for the rising rate of asthma among children; it has doubled in the past 15 years. Also, the number of hospital admissions due to respiratory illness among children has risen by 40 per cent.
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The rate of injury-related deaths has decreased among children, likely reflecting improved regulation of hazardous activities and better safety standards. Vehicle accidents remain the leading cause of children's accidental deaths.
Community Resources
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Schools are facing shortages of science equipment. More than 75 per cent of children attended schools where teachers reported that basic supplies were at least adequate in 1994, but less than half of the teachers reported that they had adequate science equipment. Total government spending on education as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) rose between 1994 and 1995.
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Public health insurance enables Canadian children at all income levels to make the same average number of visits to doctors. By comparison, one-third of American children did not have health insurance at some point in 1995 or 1996, and they were eight times less likely than insured children to visit a doctor.
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In 1995, government health care spending as a percentage of GDP fell for the first time in 25 years. Polls show that a growing number of Canadians are concerned about maintaining universal health care.
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Fewer poor than non-poor children regularly visit a dentist. This is likely related to the lack of universal public dental insurance or programs for children in any province or territory except Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island. British Columbia has a basic dental program for low-income children, and Saskatchewan will be introducing dental care for poor
children in 1998.
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Child welfare agencies report rising caseloads but stagnant or declining budgets. The number of children taken into the care of child welfare agencies increased between 1994 and 1995.
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Child-care costs to parents have increased, and public spending on child care has decreased.
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Social housing development has halted in most of Canada, despite the need for affordable housing for families of half a million children.
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The costs of physical recreation activities make them inaccessible to many children. The average annual cost of participating in physical activities for a child aged five to 13 years is $707. Nearly half of poor families cite the cost of physical recreation as a barrier to participation.
Civic Vitality
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Child-friendly initiatives are beginning to catch on in Canadian cities. While all large Canadian cities offer programs and facilities to encourage children's healthy activities, much more can be done. User fees for services and recreational facilities create barriers to participation – especially for low-income children.
Only four of 19 municipalities surveyed – Edmonton, Gloucester, Regina and
Ottawa –
report providing subsidies for low-income families to increase their access to services and recreational facilities.
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Median individual charitable donations remain stable, although the number of people donating to charities increased from 1994 to 1995.
Health Status
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The vast majority of Canadian children are reported by their parents to be in good health. Child mortality rates were stable between 1994 and 1995, and rates of immunization improved.
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Two-thirds of Canada's children and youth are not active enough for their optimal health and development.
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The incidence of sexually transmitted diseases has gone down among young people. Pregnancy and fertility rates also fell among teens and young adults, and more young women are choosing to have abortions. The number of abortions among women under age
25 increased between 1994 and 1995.
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Hyperactive children are being diagnosed in greater numbers. Diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and prescriptions for Ritalin have risen significantly in the 1990s.
Social Engagement
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Bullying is a problem among one-half of boys and one-quarter of girls, according to a 1996 study of 15-year-olds. However, teachers report fewer bullying problems in schools with programs that teach positive social interactions.
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Youth crime rates have dropped over the past four years, mirroring trends in adult crime rates. The youth violent crime rate dropped by four per cent between 1995 and 1996.
Children and youth are seeking outside help for social problems. Kids Help Phone, a national 24-hour a day phone counselling service for children and teens, receives an average of 3,000 calls per day, but can answer only 45 per cent of them. The number of missing children and runaways decreased between 1995 and 1996.
Learning
Canadian children's math and science skills are average on an international scale. Within Canada, the highest proportions of students with acceptable science knowledge are in Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec. More young people are completing high school and going on to post-secondary training. Roughly one-quarter of young adults aged 20 to 24 hold a post-secondary diploma or certificate, while eight per cent hold a university degree – a slight increase over 1994. -
University tuition costs have risen dramatically since 1990. As a result, the average debt load for a student graduating with a bachelor's degree has nearly tripled, from $8,700 to $22,000.
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Television-watching is the most common extra-curricular activity among children.
Labour Force Profile of Youth
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At 16 per cent, Canada's overall unemployment rate among young people aged 15 to 24 is average for industrialized countries. The unemployment rate for teens and young adults improved slightly between 1994 and 1995, but remained well above the rate for people aged 25 and older.
Education greatly affects young people's chances of being unemployed. Nearly 19 per cent of youth aged 15 to 24 with a high school education or less were unemployed in 1995, compared to less than nine per cent of those with a university degree. These rates are similar to those in 1985, but higher than those in 1990. -
Young adults' average earnings are lower than they were during the early 1980s, although they rose between 1994 and 1995. This reflects, in part, the growing concentration of youth working in jobs as food servers or as store clerks, for example, with low rates of pay and primarily part-time hours.
The Progress of Canada's Children 1997 - Related Material
Canadian Council on Social Development,
309 Cooper Street, 5th Floor,
Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 0G5
Tel: (613) 236-8977, Fax: (613) 236-2750, Web: www.ccsd.ca, Email: council@ccsd.ca
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