The results showed that many adults had an understanding of how to meet a child’s physical needs but a very few were aware of how to meet their many emotional needs. In fact, 30% of respondents answered at least half of the questions about physical development correctly as compared to less than 2% who answered at least half of the questions about emotional development correctly.  According to the Centre on the Developing Child Harvard University (CDCHU), “Early emotional development lays the foundation for later academic performance, mental health, and the capacity to form successful relationships.”

I can’t say I’m surprised at the results; as a parent to a 16 month old it is often very difficult to know how to support my son’s emotional well-being especially because he can’t yet tell me what’s wrong or how he’s feeling.  However, what I have learned is that through behaviours that start right at birth he is showing me his needs.  For instance, knowing that children have different cries for different needs and the importance of bonding through cuddling, eye-contact and touch are ways of showing and responding to emotional needs.

A report prepared in 2010 for the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative supported by the Norlien Foundation looked at “How Albertans Think About Child Mental Health.” The study found that many respondents often reasoned that children can’t experience mental health because of their lack of emotional development. However, new research shows the opposite is true, a study done by the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child at Harvard University found that, “Young children are capable of surprisingly deep and intense feelings of sadness (includ­ing depression), grief, anxiety, and anger (which can result in unmanageable aggres­sion), in addition to the heights of joy and hap­piness for which they are better known. For some children, the preschool years mark the beginning of enduring emotional dif­ficulties and mental-health problems that may become more severe than earlier genera­tions of parents and clinicians ever suspected.”

United Way of the Alberta Capital Region and Success By 6® supports awareness about mental health issues by providing funding to local agencies and by helping fund new research.  The goal is help prevent mental health problems, to reduce stigma about mental illness and to help support proper treatments.

Supporting a child’s emotional development isn’t always easy and the ACCFCR survey suggests that there is a lack of information and resources available to parents and caregivers in this area.  However, as new research emerges about early brain development and the linkages between mental health, the community can begin to respond by developing new programs and services.

MENTAL HEALTH WEEK IS MAY 7-13 visit the Canadian Mental Health Association to find out more.

Angela Dorval is a Communications Specialist for Success By 6^®, a community initiative managed by United Way, focused on ensuring all children from 0-6 years have the supports they need for a lifetime of healthy growth and development.

Definitions:

Emotional Development:  Learning to express emotions in response to events and experiences at age-appropriate level and to empathize. Learning to understand one’s own feelings and appropriate ways of expressing them.

Social Development: Learning to play and get along with others.  Showing self-confidence and being curious about the world.  Interacting successfully with others.

Physical Development: Physical development of the body including the development of both gross and fine motor skills at an age-appropriate level (ex. Sitting, crawling, walking, picking up objects).

Cognitive Development: The ability to learn and use of language.  The ability to reason, problem-solve, and organize ideas.

Resources for Families & Professionals:

Alberta Health Services - www.albertahealthservices.ca/mentalhealth.asp

Canadian Mental Health Association – Edmonton Region www.cmha-edmonton.ab.ca

Child and Youth Mental Health Information Network www.cymhin.ca

Sources:

The Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research (2008). Alberta Benchmark Survey: What Adults Know About Child Development.

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2004).Children’s Emotional Development Is Built into the Architecture of Their Brains, Working Paper 2. Center on the Developing Child Harvard University.

A Frameworks Research Report, prepared by Nat Kendall-Taylor (2010). Kids Must Have Mental Health…But They Can’t, Can They?” How Albertans Think About Child Mental Health.  Norlien Foundation Alberta Family Wellness Initiative.

As the months went on, reading became a regular part of our days.  It was a time when we could both relax and cuddle while discovering new stories. I was amazed at how early on he started interacting with books.  At first he would smile at certain pictures, touch and feel the texture of the pages and of course suck on the corners of the book. I remember when he was about six months old I found him sitting on the floor flipping through a book, giggling away.  It was a great feeling to know that our daily story time had ignited an early passion for reading.

The reason I’m sharing my personal experiences with my son is because Friday, January 27^th is Family Literacy Day.  A day that was developed to create awareness about literacy issues in Canada and encourage families to read together on a daily basis.  It’s also a great opportunity to talk about why reading is so important for children of all ages; and why it is never too early to start to ready with your child.  An excerpt from the book, How to Raise a Reader, highlights some of the reasons why reading to young children is so important, not only for their cognitive development but it also helps to build strong relationships between family members. “For a child, more time spent with a parent reading aloud increases his or her level of attachment, enhances a sense of security, and imparts the knowledge that their parent feels they are worthwhile people with whom to spend time.”  Since about three-quarters of Canadian families with children 0-6 years have one or both parents working outside the home, reading is a wonderful way to bring the family together at the end of a long day.

Success By 6^®, a community initiative managed by United Way focused on ensuring that all Edmonton children from 0 to 6 years have the supports they need for a lifetime of healthy growth and development, encourages literacy awareness through its support of the Centre for Family Literacy.  The Centre for Family Literacy’s mission is to build, develop and improve literacy within families and communities. Success By 6^® helps them to do this by providing funding for the Literacy Classroom on Wheels (C.O.W.) and the Alberta Prairie Literacy C.O.W.( or as children call it, the big COW bus).

So on Friday, January 27^th, take some time out of your day to read with a special child in your life, I know that reading more has benefited me as much as it has my son. 

Here are some of the many benefits of early literacy development, that last throughout childhood and beyond:

•  Expanded vocabulary and writing skills
• Healthy social and emotional development
• Longer attention spans, promoting better retention of information in school
• Enhanced imaginative and critical thinking skills
• A sense of closeness and intimacy between parent and child
• Enhanced memory and higher levels of concentration

Early Literacy Resources in the City of Edmonton:

Edmonton Public Library and the Centre for Family Literacy

Baby Laptime

Sing, Sign, Laugh and Learn

Books for Babies

Daddy and Baby Time

Family Storytime

Fun for Ones

Preschool Storytime

Rhymes That Bind

Literacy Classroom on Wheels (C.O.W.)

Alberta Prairie Literacy C.O.W

Angela Dorval is a Communications Specialist with Success By 6 Edmonton and is a proud mother of a one year old boy.