Today, in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Planned Parenthood Toronto, the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health, the Canadian Teachers Federation, the Child Welfare League of Canada and Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, Wisdom2Action launched two ground-breaking new resources on 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion in the youth-serving sector. The Sandbox Project is proud to have supported this multi-sector collaboration through the Sandbox Impact Program.
The Raising the Bar Call to Action and Tip Sheet can support system leaders, organizational leadership, managers and change champions within the youth-serving sector on how to meaningfully implement 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion. To learn more, visit Wisdom2Action or download the Raising the Bar resources below.
ParticipACTION invites Canadians to virtually explore the country with the Great Big Move!
This October, ParticipACTION is challenging Canadians to get active, get exploring and get winning with the Great Big Move! From October 1st to 31st, team up with up to 7 friends, colleagues or family members to virtually explore amazing Canadian active destinations through the ParticipACTION app. Log move minutes and unlock milestones that increase your chances to win up to $20,000 in great prizes!
Joining the Great Big Move is easy:
Download the free ParticipACTION app in Google Play* or App Store*
Open the app and follow the steps to create your profile
Tap the icon that looks like a group of runners found within the bottom navigation bar
Tap the “CREATE A TEAM” button - make sure to give it a good name!**
On the next screen tap “SHARE CODE”- rally up to 7 teammates to join your team!
Get moving and tracking!
*Already have the app? Skip to step 3.
**Someone sent you a team code?
Open the app and follow the steps to create your profile
Tap the icon that looks like a group of runners found within the bottom navigation bar
Tap the “JOIN A TEAM” button
On the next screen enter the code you were given to join your new team!
Get moving and tracking!
Remember, the more move minutes each team member accumulates, the more progress you make towards completing milestones. That’s it! BTW, if your team has the right stuff to complete all of the Great Big Move milestones, you get to unlock bonus treks and more chances to win additional prizes!
For more information, visit ParticipACTION.
CHILD Cohort Study: Birth factors influence infant gut microbiome, risk of obesity & allergies
Source: allergen.ca
New CHILD research published in the journal Gastroenterology explores how cesarean delivery and other birth events influence a baby’s gut microbiome at three and 12 months of age, and how this can increase the risk of allergies and obesity later in childhood.
The research used data from 1,667 mothers and infants participating in the CHILD Cohort Study. The researchers analyzed the gut microbes in infant stool samples, and cross-referenced this analysis with body-mass index (BMI) measurements and the results of allergy tests that these same children underwent at ages one and three years.
The study found that infants born by cesarean section were more likely to have a high BMI score at one and three years of age. The researchers also found that at three months these babies had an altered ratio of two bacteria – Enterobacteriaceae and Bacteroidaceae – and that this change represented the dominant path to overweight.
At 12 months of age the same infants had a higher Enterobacteriaceae/Bacteroidaceae (E/B) ratio and colonization with the bacterium Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile), which the researchers identified as the main pathways leading to allergic sensitization.
“Cesarean birth was an initiating event triggering over 100 gut microbial pathways; however, among these, we found that a higher E/B abundance ratio was the dominant compositional change leading to both overweight and allergic sensitization,” explained senior author Dr. Anita Kozyrskyj (University of Alberta).
Infants born after prolonged labour associated with a first pregnancy were also found to be at a higher risk for these health outcomes, with the E/B abundance ratio again being the most important microbiota mediator to overweight and allergic sensitization, and with Bifidobacterium also playing a role in overweight development.
“The takeaway from our study is that exposures at birth can trigger multiple and common gut microbial pathways leading to child overweight and allergic sensitization,” added Dr. Kozyrskyj.
“We may want to take steps to avoid unnecessary cesarean deliveries and possibly consider microbiota solutions for babies that may help to prevent these two conditions.”
UNICEF Report Card 16: Canada ranks in bottom tier of wealthy countries
Canada ranks 30th out of 38 wealthy countries, amplifying concerns about post COVID-19 child and youth well-being in Canada
Canadian childhoods are in crisis according to a new report released today by UNICEF Canada. UNICEF Report Card 16, which measures the state of children and youth under age 18 in wealthy countries, ranks Canada 30th out of 38 nations on the most recently available data from just before the pandemic.
The reports indicate that even before the outbreak of COVID-19, the richest countries in the world were failing to ensure that all their children had good childhoods. Expected falls in GDP, increases in child poverty, the consequences of stay-at-home policies, and the impacts of the pandemic on health and school systems, heighten the risk that the COVID crisis will create a global child rights crisis.
UNICEF Canada's Companion to Report Card 16, entitled Worlds Apart, shows that before the pandemic, Canada was among the countries with the best economic, environmental and social conditions for growing up, but the poorest outcomes for children and youth.
"Canada's children are worlds apart from the happiest, healthiest children in rich countries and worlds apart from each other due to wide inequalities," said David Morley, President & CEO of UNICEF Canada. "Improving child and youth well-being in Canada is a matter of political will: if governments want to improve Canada's 8 million childhoods, they have the means to do it. To get better outcomes, Canada needs bolder public policies that protect the right to a childhood."
UNICEF Canada advises parliaments and legislatures to protect children and youth from the impacts of COVID-19 by investing more in bolder public policies that support families and children like income benefits, early child care and education, school nutrition, parental leave and the Spirit Bear Plan.
Canada's governments currently spend much less on families and children than most wealthy countries. The average spending rate among rich countries is 2.38 per cent of GDP, while Canada falls far behind at 1.68 per cent.
The charity is also recommending that the Government of Canada take better account of the state of children and youth and their perspectives, by establishing a National Commissioner for Children and Youth, lowering the voting age, and conducting a Child Impact Assessment on all policies and laws.
"Being young right now is hard. It feels like we're constantly being reminded that nobody cares about our futures: not our government, not the generations that came before us and definitely not our political system," said Rayne Fisher-Quann, 18. "We're fighting tooth and nail to get a chance at a future. We're tired of waiting: we need policy change now, and we need you to help us."
Canada's rank of 30th in child well-being outcomes is based on indicators of mental health and happiness (31st), physical health and survival (30th), and education achievement and skills development (18th). The Report Card also ranks Canada according to its policies, and finds that in every policy that supports better, more equitable outcomes, Canada falls far short of the best-performing countries.
Canada has been making the most progress in reducing child poverty and reducing the number of young people excluded from education, employment and training, though there are still wide disparities. Canada ranks highest in children's academic achievement. Canada ranks lowest in child survival (including teen suicide and child mortality), health (including immunization and unhealthy weight) and children's overall life satisfaction.
Report Card 16's Key Findings for Canadian children and youth:
The state of Canada's children and youth:
Almost 1 in 3 young people does not have basic reading and math skills by age 15; ranking 13th
26% of young people have difficulty making friends; ranking 23rd
Canada's rate of child mortality is 0.98 child deaths per 1,000 births; ranking 28th
Almost 1 in 4 children has low life satisfaction; ranking 28th
Almost 1 in 3 children is overweight or obese; ranking 29th
Canada has one of the highest rates of adolescent suicide; ranking 35th
Canada's policies for children and youth:
Canada ranks 19th in the number of children in preschool one year before primary education begins
6% of young people age 15-19 are not in work, school or training; ranking 20th
7% of infants are born with a low birthweight; ranking 21st
Canada ranks 24th in the adequacy of parental leave
Almost 1 in 5 children lives in poverty; ranking 26th
87% of children are immunized against measles, below the 95% threshold for protection; ranking 33rd
Raising Canada 2020 is now available!
New report Reveals the Top 10 Threats to Childhood and the Impact of COVID-19
Raising Canada 2020 is the third in a series of reports that track the top 10 threats to childhood in Canada. This year, the report includes a special focus on the impacts of COVID-19 on the health and well-being of children. Researchers found that most of the threats are increasing – or are in danger of increasing – because of the pandemic.
The report is jointly published by Children First Canada (CFC), the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine's O'Brien Institute for Public Health and the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute.
Raising Canada 2020 includes:
New data on the impact of COVID-19 on children’s health and well-being
A child rights framework applied to each of the top 10 threats
New threats to children’s health, including the impact of climate change, the closure of schools and lack of access to essential services
The lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic highlight one key factor: children’s most basic rights to life, survival and development are in jeopardy. Canada’s recovery efforts need to give special attention to the best interests of children and youth. The future of Canada depends on it.