Child mental health key

Mental health will be front and centre on National Child Day in Kelowna.

The Central Okanagan Early Years Partnership will host a community symposium on November 20 called Beyond Playgrounds and Programs. It will focus on the role of government, service organizations, community leaders and businesses in supporting the mental well-being of children and youth.

Stakeholders will include local governments, including the City of Kelowna, City of West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation, District of Lake Country and District of Peachland.

Canada ranked near the bottom (31 out of 38 countries) in UNICEF’s Child Well-Being Report Card (2020) for child mental health and happiness and 35th for suicide among 15 to 19-year-olds. In the Central Okanagan, 58% of 16 and 17-year-olds surveyed rated their mental health as good or excellent, but that is lower than the provincial average of 60% in the Adolescent Health Survey, and those overall numbers fell from 73% in 2018 and 81% in 2013.

“The Early Development Instrument for Central Okanagan indicates that 28.6% of Kindergarten-aged children are developmentally vulnerable, socially and emotionally. The Middle Development Instrument indicates that only 38.7% of 10 and 11-year-olds are thriving on the Well-Being Index.

“What does this say about the social, physical, and natural environments in which kids are living, playing, learning and growing? Surely, we can do better,” said Tim Ropchan, executive director of Childhood Connections.

The keynote speaker at Wednesday’s conference at Metro Hub on Ellis Street will be Lianne Carley, senior policy lead at Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH). Carley will highlight a new Local Government Information Guide that lays out how local governments can create environments that foster the mental well-being of children and youth through four key protective factors: Participation, Play, Safety, and Social Connection and Belonging. Those interested in participating in the community education event can register here.

Ropchan points out that in the years following COVID, Childhood Connections heard childcare providers’ concerns about children’s mental well-being being negatively impacted by stress at home and in community life.

“most mental health issues can be prevented with strong psychological health and resilience built early in life and nurtured through middle childhood and adolescence. That’s what we should be striving for, rather than letting problems arise and then treating them,” adds Ropchan.

In the lead-up to National Child Day, the COEYP has organized community StoryWalks in Kelowna, Westbank First Nation, West Kelowna and Peachland and children’s art displays in Kelowna and West Kelowna City Halls. Both the StoryWalks and art displays will be set up until Nov. 25. More information on the locations of the StoryWalks can be found here.

November 20 is National Child Day in Canada and World Children's Day, marking the date in 1989 when children's human rights were recognized by UNICEF with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.