One of the alarming findings of the recently-published Growing Up in Ireland report was that a quarter of all three-year-old children in Ireland were overweight or obese, and that there was evidence of a social gradient emerging, with the most disadvantaged social class having the highest proportion of obese three-year-olds.
The report also revealed evidence of a social gradient in relation to the child’s diet. Children of less-educated Primary Caregivers were less likely to have eaten fresh fruit or vegetables in the 24 hours preceding the interview. In fact, it was observed that they had often consumed energy-dense food instead, like hamburgers and crisps.
Other causes for concern were the high levels of long-standing illness, disability or other ongoing health conditions which, according to the ESRI, were measured in 16 per cent of their test population of 9,793 children.
The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Ms Frances Fitzgerald TD, has welcomed the publication of the latest series of research, which is commissioned and funded by her Department.
Responding to the findings, Minister Fitzgerald said “this important research provides a rich description of life between birth and three years, a time in life marked by a number of significant developmental milestones.”
Noting the evidence of the emergence of a social gradient across a range of child outcomes by 3 years, the Minister said that “these striking findings remind us of the important role for public policy in mitigating the effects of early disadvantage.”
Other report finding
Respiratory illnesses such as asthma were the most commonly reported illness type. Asthma was the most common illness reported, with 6 per cent of the sample having received a doctor’s diagnosis of asthma.
According to the report, “This is not an unexpected finding as respiratory illness has been found to be the most common illness of early childhood, and Ireland consistently ranks among the highest in the world in terms of asthma prevalence. The next most common illness types were eczema/skin allergies (4 per cent) and digestive allergies (1.3 per cent). Taken together, these three conditions accounted for more than half of all chronic illness among three-year-olds.”
Unfortunately for boys, they are significantly more likely than girls to have a doctor’s diagnosis of chronic illness (18 per cent v 13 per cent), this relationship held across a number of chronic illness categories including asthma, respiratory allergies, eczema/skin allergies and digestive allergies.
Parents who reported that their three-year-old child had a longstanding illness, condition or disability were asked more detailed questions with respect to the extent that their condition hampered their day-to-day lives.
Of these, 65 per cent reported that the child was not hampered, 29 per cent reported ‘hampered to some extent’, and 6 per cent said their child was severely hampered. As with most other issues, the extent to which the issue hampered children appeared to increase with social disadvantage. The access to medical cards increased the use of medical services among the disadvantaged. “The average rate of GP consultations was 2.6 visits per year. Children with a full medical card were significantly more likely to consult the GP, even when controlling for children’s health status.”
Antibiotic use
Almost two-thirds of all three-year-olds had received at least one course of antibiotics in the preceding 12-month period.
Pre-school children consume more antibiotic medicines than any other age group, according to the ESRI. Ireland has one of the highest prescription rates in the EU, fuelling concerns that over-use of antibiotics is leading to antibiotic resistance. In Growing Up in Ireland, parents were asked to record the total number of courses of antibiotics their child had received in the preceding 12-month period.
Almost two-thirds of the Growing Up in Ireland sample (65 per cent) had received at least one course of antibiotics in the past year (comparable with UK figures of 62 per cent). Those children on a full medical card were more likely to have had antibiotics – 71 per cent – compared with 69 per cent of those with a GP only card, and 62 per cent of those with no medical coverage.
Speech and language development
An appropriate pace of speech and language development is imperative for both social interaction and learning. Impairments may cause distress to the child as they become more aware that they are not at the same level as other children. “By age three years, nearly one-in-five Primary Caregivers had concerns about their child’s speech and language development.” Boys were more likely to have problems than girls for most types of impairment. Just under a third of children with a speech and language issue had received some treatment for it.
Growing Up in Ireland is wholly funded by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, in association with the Department of Social Protection and the Central Statistics Office. The study is being carried out by a consortium of researchers led by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD)
