MONTREAL – Quebec’s toddlers have not been spared by the pandemic, which has seen their mental health and their physical health in general deteriorate, a trend that is much more pronounced among small children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Toddler Observatory produced a report this year that clashes with its usual findings, since its data collection in Quebec covers up to the year 2019 and we had to fall back on international studies to try to identify trends in the impact of the pandemic, which began in early 2020.
“It’s a somewhat particular portrait,” admits the director of the Observatory, Fanny Dagenais. She explains that the organization decided to start with, as a basis, the data from the major surveys of the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ) and the Régie de l’assurance-maladie du Québec (RAMQ) and to improve.
“We took data to get a pre-COVID probe and frame it with the results of a review of studies published since the start of the pandemic.”
More marked deterioration in underprivileged areas
The result? A portrait which shows that 0-5 year olds from disadvantaged families, already disadvantaged, have seen their situation deteriorate even faster than that of children from better-off families.
“We know that families in a more disadvantaged socio-economic situation have been more affected by the effects of COVID. We can see that the result of the review of scientific studies published since the start of the pandemic really shows us the effects on these dimensions. ”
A convincing example is on the food side, explains Ms. Dagenais.
“The impact would have been positive in some better-off families because the parents ended up in their homes with more time to cook, which may have had a positive impact on the quality of the diet.”
In contrast, she says, “the families that were vulnerable before the pandemic have been hit hardest by the pandemic. It is within these families that we have experienced more job losses and, therefore, food insecurity. When it is difficult to fill the grocery basket, it can affect the quality of the diet.
“We see that the pandemic may have had positive repercussions for some better-off families, but negative repercussions on the diet of toddlers in disadvantaged areas.”
Too many screens, not enough movement
In addition, pre-pandemic data indicates that 40% of 3 to 5 year olds were not doing enough physical activity for their age and that more than half (52%) spent more time than recommended in front of screens. Can we take for granted that this situation has worsened into a pandemic? “It is definitely a hypothesis that would hold water because numerous studies have documented the effect of the pandemic on sedentary lifestyle in children and on the time spent in front of the screens”, argues Fanny Dagenais.
Again, the situation is likely exacerbated among less well-off households, she explains.
“Families who live in neighborhoods that they deem unsafe, it is certain that at this time, parents will prefer to have them inside watching TV than outside where they are. could be risks for them. Also, the whole question of family-work reconciliation can come into play because at this age, children, unless they have a small fenced yard, which is not the case for all families, we must accompany them. outside, take them to the park for example. ”
Mental health undermined
The data on conjugal violence are also quite startling when we see that 11% of mothers of children from 6 months to 5 years old would have suffered violence during their perinatal period, therefore surrounding pregnancy, violence from the spouse or the child. ‘ex-spouse. “This is a statistic that one believes that could underestimate the reality since numerous studies conducted here and around the world have documented an increase in violence within families, both domestic violence and violence against women. children during the pandemic period. “
Obviously, this is a major source of stress for a child under 6 years old, but even in cases where there is no violence, it is estimated that the mental health of toddlers has taken a toll. blow during the pandemic.
“Studies in several countries have shown that children are among those whose mental health has deteriorated the most during the pandemic and some studies have documented an increase in anxiety and depressive symptoms, behavioral disturbances, a decrease in children’s attention span and the quantity and quality of sleep, ”Ms. Dagenais reports.
Andréane Melançon, scientific advisor specializing in child development at the National Institute of Public Health (INSPQ), adds that here again, socio-economic status plays a big role. “In families who are more socio-economically disadvantaged, children are less well compared to more privileged families. We can think that these parents probably have more precarious jobs, so they have more stress. If parents are stressed, children will get that stress. ”
Impact on parents
“When parents have no worries because their work has not been cut off by the pandemic and we have been able to have a good teleworking facility, we are less stressed,” she continues. Ms. Melançon, who conducted the review of international studies for the Observatory, warns, however, that there is no question of minimizing the impact on better-off families “because everyone has had negative experiences with pandemic”.
And if the stress of parents rubs off on toddlers, the same goes in the opposite direction, adds Ms. Dagenais. “When you take care of a child who has behavioral problems, who doesn’t sleep well at night, the parent probably doesn’t sleep very well either. It is certain that in a context of a pandemic, where the sources of stress have tended to accumulate within families, it is certain that this could have had repercussions on the parents as well. “
Moreover, she adds, “studies have shown that parents had more mental health problems during the pandemic and that, when we look at all adults, the subgroup of adults with young people children were at greater risk of having had mental health consequences ”.
Solutions: day care, accommodation and housing
What can be done to counter these negative impacts on the mental and physical health of children? Unsurprisingly, the solutions sound like a statement of the big issues of the day, starting with ensuring quality child care, housing and urban planning.
“Quality childcare services will promote the quality of nutrition and ensure that the child is physically active to help motor development,” says Ms. Dagenais. Municipalities also must “promote access to safe places, parks that are suitable for toddlers, that parents will feel comfortable going to without having the child hurt”.
“We must also promote access to affordable housing, a stress that can be quite significant for a family that pays too much for its rent, which really puts pressure on the financial balance. It has been shown that living in substandard housing or in a poor quality neighborhood has repercussions on the development of toddlers, on their physical and mental health, ”she concludes, adding another weight in the balance unfavorable to disadvantaged families.
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