The first six years of a person's life represent the most intense period of brain development, with over 90 per cent of the brain's development occurring in this time frame.
These early years set the groundwork for a lifetime of learning and heavily influence learning ability, behaviour and health in later years.
Data from a recent study suggests children in the Battlefords area are behind their Canadian peers in four of five areas of child development considered necessary for school preparedness.
The results are particularly concerning, because the study targeted mainstream children only and does not include children who are already identified as being in an at-risk group or developmentally delayed.
The Early Development Instrument was developed a number of years ago at the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University. The EDI measures kindergarten students' readiness for school, that is, their "ability to meet the task demands at school," and their "ability to benefit from the educational activities provided by the school." (offordcentre.com)
Two years ago, the Saskatchewan government asked all school divisions in the province to collect and submit EDI data for their kindergarten classes. It is important to note EDI results are presented for groups of children only, they do not diagnose or assess the development of individual students.
The results showed children in the Battlefords were behind in four areas: physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity and language and cognitive development. In the area of communication skills and general knowledge, Battlefords children were on par with the national average.
In November 2010, Paul Kershaw was invited to speak in Regina by kidSKAN, an organization focused on early childhood development in Saskatchewan.
Kershaw is a political scientist at the University of British Columbia, whose research documents the cost to society when children enter school unprepared. He is a part of HELP: the Human Early Learning Partnership, and has developed the Smart Family Policy, a strategy to support early learning and improve the economy.
Kershaw's talk, and additional interviews, can be viewed on kidSKAN's YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/kidskanadmin).
Shortly after, the Battlefords Early Childhood Community Planning Network was formed, a committee comprised of Battlefords United Way, Battlefords Early Childhood Intervention Program, KidsFirst North Battleford and the Northwest Regional Intersectoral Committee.
Jane Zielke, executive director of Battlefords United Way, said she saw the data as an opportunity to make a change, one that will make a lasting impact on the children and future children of the Battlefords.
"It is a very exciting thing to be involved in and the community can really make a difference here," she said.
Zielke pointed to the suggestions on the brochures the BECCPN has distributed and explained simply spending time with children can make a difference.
"I know there's a lot of stress on parents these days, for lots of different reasons," she said, adding grandparents, relatives and even friends can lend a helping hand.
The brochure offers a number of helpful suggestions, such as reading aloud to children, playing outside with them and even having children do simple chores.
A grant from the Community Initiatives Fund made the brochure possible, and also enabled the BECCPN to hire a consultant, Michael Quennell, to develop a strategy.
The BECCPN presented the issue to both the City of North Battleford and the Town of Battleford, and on Feb. 15, held an information and planning session which brought together a number of agencies and organizations, including both mayors, representatives from Prairie North Health Region, KidsFirst, Light of Christ Catholic School Division, Battlefords Boys and Girls Club, and others.
The session involved discussing available programming and identifying gaps in service, as well as discussing possible solutions.
For more information, or for a copy of the brochures, contact Battlefords Early Childhood Prevention Program at 446-4545, Battlefords United Way at 445-1717, or KidsFirst at 446-6012.
