2.4 Neighbourhoods and communities
Communities shape the daily lives of children and families.
Beyond family home life, researchers find a child’s development is influenced by how a community approaches nurturing its children. Access to programs and services is part of the community environment. Other influences include the physical environment and shared spaces, the dominant view about children and childhood, and sense of safety. Additionally, there is growing awareness of the effects of various environmental risks, and growing concern about the effects of climate change on young children.
Researchers debate the nature and degree of neighbourhood effects on child development. In the next clip, Dr. Jennifer Jenkins, at the University of Toronto, responds to the question, “What are your research findings in terms of how much does the neighbourhood influence child development?” She reports that her research suggests that neighbourhood influences are small in comparison with the impact of family life.
Why do you think family is a much stronger influence than neighbourhood in children’s lives?
Think about the diversity among families in your neighbourhood. How might some of those differences affect children even though they may walk down the same streets everyday and attend the same school?
While the family environment is strongly related to children’s development, neighbourhoods still account for a small, but significant influence. The next two interviews discuss research findings that describe how Canadian neighbourhoods are organized and how that can impact child development.
Dr. Noralou Roos, founder of the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy at the University of Manitoba, discusses how we organize public resources across neighbourhoods, particularly neighbourhoods at risk.
Dr. Paul Kershaw, policy professor in the University of British Columbia School of Population and Public Health, uses British Columbia’s Early Development Instrument research to examine the strengths and limitations of community action to improve children’s environments.
How do the neighbourhood characteristics influence the lives of young children?
How can public policy have an impact on neighbourhoods?
Social capital and social cohesion
Social networks (who people know) have value. Social capital is the collective value of social networks and the tendency for people within networks to do things for each other. Social capital in action is found wherever people voluntarily come together, in person or virtually, to share a common purpose. Examples include support groups; sport or fitness clubs; faith-based organizations; parent drop-ins; schools and community clubs; political parties; and even bars.
Think about your own social networks and connections: How many of your neighbours’ first names do you know? How often do you visit with friends or family?
What about your community participation and involvement: Do you volunteer at your local school; help out senior citizens; fundraise for the women’s shelter? Do you attend or participate in local cultural, sports or community events? Do you buy from local merchants? Do you sign petitions or attend neighbourhood meetings? Do you know who your elected officials are?
Do you think you can make a difference?
Funds of Knowledge – the skills and abilities of children and families that are assets – was introduced earlier in this module. Read about Funds of Knowledge research below.
The Vital Communities, Vital Support study (Russel et al., 2011) explored how well Canada’s communities support parents of young children and examined how that support relates to parents’ knowledge about child development, confidence in parenting and their parenting behaviour. A survey investigated parents’ need for and possible benefit from:
- the social support of family, friends and community, and the cultural and national attitudes, beliefs and values; and
- the tangible supports of community resources and programs.
The results of the survey found that parents feel community support when they feel parenting is supported by their neighbourhood community.
…only about 25 percent of mothers and fathers reported strong support in their parenting role from their neighbourhood community, and 16 percent of mothers and 13 percent of fathers feel very unsupported by their neighbourhood community…The mothers and fathers who feel highly supported by their neighbourhood community use significantly more resources and programs than parents who do not feel highly supported. For fathers, perceived high support for their parenting role from their neighbourhood community is the only factor associated with higher program use. Even high support from their wife/partners, who are so influential in many other ways, is not significantly associated with fathers’ greater use of programs and resources. Fathers appear to need a high level of support for their parenting role from their neighbourhood community to partake in community resources and programs. Thus, for both mothers and fathers, neighborhood support matters!” (Russel et al., 2011, pp. 3 – 4).
There are many organizations involved in the important work of supporting parents. One example is the Phoenix Centre for Children and Families – a children’s mental health treatment facility in Ontario. Their website has a variety of resources aimed at parents, professionals and children and youth.
Community research provides valuable information about what works and how it works. Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, at the Aga Khan University, argues that researchers have a responsibility to conduct research studies in a way that builds sustainable community capacity. In the following video clip, Bhutta describes how this has been accomplished in a study underway in Pakistan.
Environmental Risks
The links between climate breakdown and health – especially the health of our children – are as extensive as they are worrying” (Hampton, Hughes and Whitney 2019, para. 2).
Around the world, a rise in pollutants and toxins in the air, water, or soil is negatively impacting children’s developing bodies and/or resulting in death. A Lancet editorial points out that an estimated 25 per cent of deaths in children under age five are the direct result of an unhealthy physical environment (Pollution: Think of the Children, 2017). Read this editorial to learn about the risks associated with children’s exposure to pollutants and toxins.
Why are young children particularly vulnerable to environmental toxins?
How does pollution disproportionately affect those living in poverty?
The World Health Organization calls air pollution an unseen threat. This infographic illustrates some disturbing details.
The devastating effects of air pollution on children’s health are well documented and a serious issue that cannot continue to be ignored. Read the next articles to learn more.
What are the environmental issues in your community?
The authors identified a number of research findings related to the effects of air pollution on young children. Were there any that you found particularly alarming?
How can communities use these research findings to support change?
The following WHO infographic provides a powerful visual message. How would this be useful in your context?
