Observatoire des tout-petits (Early Childhood Observatory)
The mission of the Early Childhood Observatory, a project of the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation, is to help ensure that the development and well-being of Quebec’s very youngest children has a place at the heart of the province’s social priorities.
To achieve its mission, the Observatory seeks the answers to two key questions:
- How are Quebec’s youngest children faring?
- What kind of environments are they growing up in?
In order to answer those questions, the Observatory has created a scorecard (in French only) presenting the most rigorous, pertinent data on the development and well-being of children between the ages of 0 and 5 living in Quebec.
Placed in context in the form of special reports and discussed during dialogue events, these data help to raise public awareness of the most important issues related to the development and welfare of Quebec’s youngest children.
Through its actions, the Observatory’s intention is to spark reflection and dialogue among individual citizens, influencers and political decision-makers in the hope of bringing about more informed social choices in the area of early childhood. It also makes several tools available online, including publications, infographics and visuals for use in presentations.
Publications of the Observatory:
- 2016: Child development in kindergarten
- 2016: 2016 Portrait: What kind of environments are Quebec's youngest children growing up in?
- 2017: Violence and maltreatment: are Quebec's youngest children safe from harm?
- 2017: 2017 Portrait: How are Quebec's youngest children faring?
- 2018: Balancing family life and work in Quebec
- 2018: Early childhood: The quality of educational chidlcare services in Quebec
- 2018: Les attentes des Québécois en matière de petite enfance (in French only)
- 2019: Access to health care for pregnant women and young children in migrant families
- 2019: Portrait 2019 : dans quels environnements grandissent les tout-petits au Québec? (in French only)
- 2019: Prévenir la maltraitance chez les tout-petits (in French only)
- 2019: COVID-19 : Comment la pandémie touche-t-elle les tout-petits et leurs familles? (in French only)
The Observatoire des tout-petits could not exist without the contributions of many researchers and professionals in the early childhood, health, social services and education sectors. Several partners also sit as members of the Observatory's Scientific Committee:
- Caroline Bouchard, Université Laval, Département d'études sur l'enseignement et l’apprentissage
- Julie Brousseau, Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine
- Hélène Desrosiers et Bertrand Perron, Institut de la statistique du Québec
- Julie Poissant, Université du Québec à Montréal
- Roseline Olivier-Pilon, Institut national de santé publique du Québec
The mission of the Early Childhood Observatory (in French only)
To learn more about the initiative
A few key facts
- Number of children between 0 and 5 years of age in Quebec in 2016 534,939
- Percentage of the population of Quebec that is 5 years of age or under 6.4%
- Percentage of children in kindergarten who were vulnerable in at least one area of development in 2017 27.7%
- Proportion of children 5 and under who were living in low-income families in 2015 12.3%
