Children in Canada are gearing up to head back to school to hit the books and reunite with their friends as summer officially winds down.
But for some it can prove to be a trying time if some students don’t have the proper resources at their fingertips.
Children First Canada released its annual report that looks at all areas of a child’s life that can affect their emotional, physical and mental well-being.
The organization, catered to studying the nation’s youth, launched in 2018 with an annual series of reports that track the top 10 threats to childhood, exposing the reality of kids in Canada.
According to the group, one-third of children across the county have not experienced a safe and healthy childhood.
The 10 threats to children studied include poor mental health, violence against children, systemic racism, poverty, infant mortality, bullying, climate change and limited physical activity.
And with students returning to the classroom in a few days, these threats are very prevalent and will unfortunately show its colours.
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For example, food insecurity was one of the major issues in the report and showed that its rise among children and youth in Canada is very apparent and requires immediate government action.
The report states that one in four children across Canadian provinces lived in
households without enough access to food due to financial constraints.
In 2022, around 1.8 million children under the age of 18 were affected by food insecurity. This was a spike in comparison to the 1.4 million children in 2021.
“It is becoming more difficult for young people and their families to access food due to the rising costs of living across Canada,” the report read.
“Children and youth in more severely food-insecure households are more likely to have poor diets and experience mental health problems like emotional distress, mood and anxiety disorders, depression and suicidal thoughts,” it continued.
For more information and to read the full report, click here.
