Socio-economic level

Why is this important?

One in ten children in Québec live in poverty
One in ten children in Québec go hungry
One in four parents do not have any family-work balance measures available to them
Socio-economic inequalities result in gaps in life expectancy between better-off and less affluent citizens. For example, residents in Montréal’s poor districts have a life span that is up to 12 years shorter than residents in wealthier neighbourhoods

Children from more affluent socio-economic backgrounds suffer fewer developmental difficulties than children from underprivileged backgrounds. The differences are evident in terms of cognitive skills development, school readiness, educational performance, language skills, and social skills development
A mother’s level of educational achievement is an important predictor of the child’s school readiness and future educational achievement
Socio-economic status has a direct impact on living conditions but also indirectly affects parents’ values, behaviours and the ways they view their role
Having parents with higher levels of educational achievement is associated with a child’s educational achievement
Parents’ economic circumstances and levels of educational achievement can affect a child’s educational achievement

The parents’ income corresponds to the budget available to the family to adequately meet its needs. This income can be composed of paycheques, study grants, last-resort assistance benefits, family allowances, etc.
In Québec, the poverty line for a family of four is set at an annual income of $52 928; however, this is insufficient for adequately meeting all of a family’s needs
Potential options for raising family income include:

Participate in reduced-cost or free services and activities
Make use of publicly accessible preventive healthcare services (family physician, nurse, dentist, dental hygienist, etc.)
To help parents maintain a viable budget, encourage them to use services and participate in activities that are low-cost or free
Join a self-help or sharing network (swap time, equipment, baby supplies, etc.)
Adapt services and resources (regular and irregular time schedules, adaptations to accommodate clients’ reading level, proximity of services)
Look for ways to reduce transportation costs
Develop self-help and troubleshooting resources

The level of educational achievement refers to the highest qualification obtained by the parents—which may be: elementary or secondary school, vocational training, college or university
A higher level of educational achievement generally enhances employment prospects and leads to higher incomes. It also helps equip parents to face the challenges of life in society, for example by enabling them to feel comfortable with reading, writing and numbers—skills that are very useful for understanding a prescription or drawing up a budget.

Organize activities that enable parents to complete their education or equip them for the job market
Use the services of a quality educational daycare nursery (drop-in daycare, other nursery services, etc.)

The parents’ occupation refers to their employment status, type of job and available family-work balance measures. Are the parents actively looking for work, unemployed, on last-resort assistance benefits? Do they have a regular or irregular schedule? Do they need to juggle several jobs? Does holding down their job put pressure on family life?