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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
At risk at birth
It has been known for some time children in some homes are at real risk of failing at school -- as early as Grade 3. Now, another study by the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy finds sometimes a child becomes at risk at birth. A newborn's health can indicate whether he or she will start school behind the others.
By combing data in government records, the health policy centre looked at children who had compromised health at birth. It found more than half of those born at very low birth weights were not ready for school in at least one of five categories of indicators measured. That is a useful piece of information for the families of those children. And to that point, the study found children of poorer health who were breastfed had much better odds of being ready for school.
Perhaps more meaningful to broader provincial policy, the centre's study looked at three factors known to be very influential in whether a child is at risk of failing at school -- being born to teen moms, to families on welfare or being in the care of a child welfare agency. Forty per cent of five-year-olds whose families are on welfare were not ready for school, a rate equal to that of those born to teen moms and who then went into the care of CFS.
Not being ready includes things such as not having the gross or fine motor skills a five-year-old needs to hold a pencil, to kick a ball or to turn a page. It also can mean he or she is anxious, aggressive, can't speak well or recognize letters or numbers. These things determine whether a child is ready to learn, able to keep up with their peers. Less than a quarter of kids with none of the three risk factors start school unready. The study underscores the need for schools, social service agencies and provincial programs to target most heavily those at greatest risk.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 14, 2012 A10
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