{"id":762,"date":"2019-02-04T14:29:13","date_gmt":"2019-02-04T18:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedwayeo.ca\/about-us\/news-and-stories\/copy-of-our-city-are-ottawas-kids-under-stress\/"},"modified":"2019-09-09T17:26:57","modified_gmt":"2019-09-09T21:26:57","slug":"notre-ville-les-enfants-dottawa-sont-ils-stresses","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/unitedwayeo.mydev.ca\/fr\/nouvelles-et-recits\/notre-ville-les-enfants-dottawa-sont-ils-stresses\/","title":{"rendered":"Notre ville : Les enfants d\u2019Ottawa sont-ils stress\u00e9s?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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In Ottawa, many youth are in situations of emotional distress\u2014they struggle with things like depression, anxiety, or even isolation. That\u2019s why United Way and our community partners invest in programs that minimize what we call \u201cnegative life outcomes\u201d\u2014things like poor mental health, socioeconomic inequality or unhealthy lifestyles down the road. By investing in early childhood, together we are addressing their needs now, but also laying the foundation for future success.<\/h5>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"It\u2019s essential that we work together to do everything we can to support healthy development in children\u2019s early years.\"<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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By now, most kids in Ottawa have settled back into the school routine following their return from winter holidays, and they find themselves in their classrooms both ready and excited to learn. But for some, learning and succeeding in school can be a real struggle.<\/p>\n

While there are many reasons for this, among them is the unsettling reality that many of Ottawa\u2019s kids deal with toxic stress<\/strong>, which can have damaging effects on their learning, behaviour and long-term physical and mental health.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What is toxic stress?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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We all experience a certain amount of stress in our lives, and not all types of stress are actually bad for us.<\/p>\n

Positive stress<\/em><\/strong>, such as the stress experienced when facing challenges like meeting new people or first-day-of-school jitters, is actually essential for a child\u2019s development. The positive stress response tends to be short-lived and mild, and when children are emotionally supported with reassurance and protection, their experiences with this type of stress allow them to gain resilience\u2014helping them later on in life.[i]<\/sup><\/p>\n

Tolerable stress<\/em><\/strong>, such as that experienced when dealing with the death of a loved one, is a more severe type of stress. Thankfully, a child\u2019s brain will usually recover from this type of stress if they are protected with healthy relationships and strong social and emotional supports.[ii]<\/sup><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\"Toxic stress is different. It\u2019s caused by things like as abuse, neglect, extreme poverty, violence, household dysfunction and food scarcity[iii]\u2014hardships that can be detrimental to mental and physical health in the long term.\"<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Toxic stress results in prolonged activation of the stress response. In a toxic stress situation, there is a lack of caregiver support, reassurance or emotional attachment, which prevents the buffering of the stress response and the return of the body to its normal functioning.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Why is toxic stress during a child\u2019s early years so dangerous?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Medical research has shown that early toxic stressors\u2014particularly those experienced during the first six years of life\u2014increase a child\u2019s vulnerability to outcomes such as unhealthy lifestyle, socioeconomic inequality and poor physical and mental health. Evidence also shows that toxic stress in these early years can actually result in permanent changes to the brain.[iv]<\/sup><\/p>\n

This is because the time between a child\u2019s birth and the moment they reach age six is a crucial period in their long-term development. \u00a0In fact, during these key years an infant\u2019s brain actually triples in size as the physical circuity of the brain is established.[v]<\/sup><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Negative experiences during a child\u2019s early years\u2014such as those resulting from toxic stress\u2014are harmful to brain development and can have lasting, lifelong impacts.\u00a0 These impacts can include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), difficulty in the regulation of emotional responses and\u00a0behavior, psychosis, depression, and an increase in suicide attempts. Toxic stress can also result in poor health outcomes including increased risk of infections in children, alcoholism, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, obesity, heart disease, and an increase in suicide attempts.[vi]<\/sup><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\"The powerful impact of toxic stress is clear. Early intervention and prevention strategies are needed to minimize serious long-term impacts.\"<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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How vulnerable are Ottawa\u2019s young children?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Early Development Instrument (EDI) gives insights into the health and wellness of senior kindergarten students across five domains that affect their development. United Way uses data from the EDI<\/a>, along with data from the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study<\/a> (ONS), to better understand where Ottawa\u2019s most vulnerable kids are located. This allows us to effectively address the needs of our city\u2019s most vulnerable children.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Based on these tools, we know that 25% of Ottawa\u2019s young children are vulnerable in one or more domains that affect their development when they start school.<\/strong> When we compare Ottawa to the provincial baseline of EDI scores, we see that our kids are falling behind significantly in two specific areas: social competence and emotional maturity.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\"This is important, because vulnerability in these two areas are strong predictors of mental health challenges later in life.\"<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In low-income areas of Ottawa, the need for support becomes even greater\u2014as areas with lower neighbourhood income are associated with poorer EDI scores.[vii]<\/sup><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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How can we work together to improve the outcomes for Ottawa\u2019s most vulnerable children?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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United Way is fortunate to have Dr. Paul Roumeliotis<\/a>\u2014a passionate champion and advocate for early childhood development\u2014as a member of our Board of Directors. In this video, he shares his insight into the importance of a child\u2019s first 18 months of life and its effects over the course of a lifetime.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Dr. Paul’s message is clear: Early childhood lays the foundation for the future. This is why it\u2019s essential that we work together to do everything we can to support healthy development in children\u2019s early years.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In Ottawa, significant segments of our youth populations are in situations of emotional distress:<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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