Thoughts on childcare

On November 16, 2012 the CISS and Universidad Iberoamericana  held a conference on childcare in the context of a forthcoming issue of Well-Being and Social Policy. The blog Primeros Pasos published interesting thoughts on the conference.

Are you interested in early childhood development?

In this blog you can find news on this topic for Latin America and the Caribbean

New social support program in Brazil

The president of Brazil announced the launch of a new social program in Brazil: "Tenderness Brazil (Brazil Carinhoso)". The program aims to overcome the problem of extrem poverty among families with children under 6 years old. Complements the CCT program "Bolsa Familia" offering childcare, additional health services and free medicines.
 

 

An interesting discussion on child benefits in Ireland

See the note here, while the report is due in the next days.

The Americas Social Security Report celebrates 10 years – Children and Social Security 2011

Following with the summary of 10 years of Americas Social Security Reports, this note will discuss the Americas Social Security Report 2011 – Children and Social Security. The Report evaluates the way in which social security is supporting children, the most vulnerable individuals in any society. Among the main recommendations are: i) to establish universal coverage in healthcare and financial protection for small children (through family allowances), specially for those who live in adverse conditions; ii) to revise the portfolio of programs to assess whether they are the most effective tool to contribute to child well-being; iii) to include gender issues as main components of programs; and iv) to make an effort to increase educational levels.  

The State of the World’s Children 2012: UNICEF

According to the UNICEF report "State of the World's Children 2012: Children in an urban world" almost half the world's children now live in urban areas, but many of them lack access to schools and health care and sanitation.

Government efforts to contain and reverse the childhood obesity

Governments of Mexico and the United States are making efforts to contain and reverse childhood obesity rates. Both countries seek to establish nutritional standards for products that children eat at school, whether the cafeterias or vending machines. See here and here, respectively.

Subsidies for adopting older children in Ontario, Canada

To leave no child without a family, in Ontario, Canada adoption subsidies would be offered to parents who adopt siblings and children age 10 and older. Complete note here.

15.5 million child domestic workers in the world

At least 15.5 million children (age 5 to 17) were engaged in domestic work in 2008. This represents almost 5 per cent of all economically active children in this age group. The number of girls in domestic work far outnumbers that of boys. Asia, Africa and Latin America are the regions most affected by this problem. This ILO document presents the problem, causes and hazards of child domestic labor, and the Convention and Recommendation adopted to fight against this phenomenon.

Two interesting papers today

Two interesting papers today: "Time for Children: Trends in the Employment Patterns of Parents, 1967-2009" and "The Labor Market Impact of Employer Health Benefit Mandates: Evidence from San Francisco's Health Care Security Ordinance."

The first one analyzes two important resources for children’s well-being: time and money. In the prior decades parents who would have remained at home have joined the labor market and as a result of this has increased the income of their children. Time use data from 1975 and 2003-2008 shows that working parents spend less time on primary childcare than parents who do not work, but spend more time than employed parents in of previous cohorts

Children of members will access the IESS

From February 1, the children of members of the Social Security Institute, IESS, under 18 years old, can be cared for in medical centers of the institution. See complete note here.

Children and Social Security 2011

The Annual Report 2011 “Children and Social Security” mentions basic data on the Canadian program, if you are interested in finding more about this program you can access these links: Service Canada y Régie des Rentes Québec.

Congratulations to IGSS!

Congratulations to Alfredo del Cid, General Manager of the Social Security Institute (IGSS) for the expansion in children coverage.

Will the Next Generation be Better off Than Their Parents’ Generation? Becker

In his blog, Becker In his blog, Becker writes about the welfare of future generations. Although most parents want their children to have better economic performance than they are, polls suggest that neither the children nor parents in the United States are confident that this will happen. To restore optimism to parents it should be promoted faster economic growth followed by right public policies.

If the factors in your country are the same that drive well, how do you think will be the future welfare of your children about your welfare?

The Americas Social Security Report 2011

During the last decades the aging of society has been discussed widely, but much less is known about the conditions of the children in the Americas and the way social security supports them. The Americas Social Security Report 2011 does not need more of a justifier, it evaluates the way in which social security is supporting children and their families, with the aim of closing the gap in the knowledge of programs for children by identifying positive results and best administrative and policy practices, and researching new options to improve programs and administration. This Report also analyzes the issue of children and their transition to adulthood: many children entering the labor market are at a disadvantage because they are too young, they are not receiving an adequate offer from the educational system, and, more often than not, lack social security protection because they are neither studying nor working. The main objective of this Report is to answer the following questions: Under what conditions are small children living, in terms of poverty, health, and social security coverage? What has been the answer of social security to protect children? What can be done to protect children in families facing special risks (for example, those with a disabled parent, or single mothers? What public policies are needed to secure that children are raised in an environment that fosters their cognitive and non-cognitive development? What is the condition of teenagers and youths with respect to social insurance? What is being done to facilitate the transition from childhood to adulthood, from school to work? The Americas Social Security Report 2011 is available online at: http://www.ciss.org.mx/index_en.php?mod=report .

Kindergarten teacher affect the rest of life?

The answer is yes. Children who attend the junior high and and high school who had an excellent early schooling do better on tests than similar children who did not have this early childhood education (see here). The importance of this has already been mentioned in a previous note.

Obesity and Overweight in Mexico City

According to an article published by newspaper El Universal, related to obesity and overweight issues Mexico City is above national average. Data from the Ministry of Health of the Distrito Federal show that 75% of public hospital beds are occupied by people with diseases related to overweight or obesity. Childhood sector is the most affected by these problems, reporting children aged between 11 and 13 with diabetes and more than five million of overweight children in Mexico City.

As a policy matter, this article mentions that if a country is going to invest in obesity prevention, it is best to do so focusing on younger children. A study presented at an obesity conference in Sweden suggests that intervention programs ttat involve schools, parents, and health-care institutions work best in kids under age five.

Mesoamerican Health Initiative 2015

The “Mesoamerican Health Initiative 2015”, financed by Carlos Slim, Bill Gates and the Spanish Government (each contributing with 50 million dollars), was launched. It will benefit millions of people in Central America and Mexico with vaccination and nutritional projects. Although health indicators have improved, there are still major differences between the poorest children and their wealthier peers; for example, a five year old in Central America and south of Mexico is six centimeters shorter than his or her peer. The main beneficiaries of this initiative will be Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Panama. For more information access this two links (1, 2).

Orphans across the Americas

Public policies should focus on protecting children orphaned because this is a vulnerable group. The graph shows the percentage of orphans in many countries of America, there is great variability between countries. While Haiti has a large percentage of orphans, in Costa Rica only 2 percentage of children are orphans.

Total orphans and double orphans, 0-17 years old, 2007

Source: UNICEF

Disabled children in the Americas

Disability affects well-being and development of children. Each country uses a different definition of disability. Almost always referred to visual, hearing, speaking and mobility limitations, and psychiatric disabilities. The graph shows the number of disabled children, 0 to 14, in the Americas and we can see a wide variation between countries where the United States has the highest percentage and Paraguay the smallest.

Disabled children, 0-14 years old, 2000-2008