Early Years Disrupted
Decades of research have demonstrated that children's first years of development are profoundly important to their lifelong health and well-being. Early childhood development is a social determinant of health— influencing physical and mental health, learning and social outcomes over the lifecourse and across generations.
The Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP, UBC) collects data with the intent to “shine a light” on how children are doing and inspire action to promote healthy development and well-being. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a measure of overall developmental health completed by kindergarten teachers. Provincial EDI data collection over 24 years shows long-term changes in developmental health in the early years and concerning trends following the COVID-19 pandemic in BC.
The Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (CHEQ) collects information on the contexts and early experiences from the perspective of parents and caregivers of kindergarten children. Used together, the CHEQ and the EDI offer rich information about how the environments where children spend their time—at home, with family, and in community—influence their developmental outcomes.
Post-pandemic changes for children and families
The COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions over the three-year period starting March 2020 to May 2023 created challenging circumstances for families with young children. Many experienced interrupted health and social services and reduced social support. Child care and community programs were disrupted or unavailable at times, and many families experienced job and income disruptions. Children spent less time around peers and adults outside their home and in programs with routines and structures. Many parents were highly stressed and some families were coping with grief and loss.
Five years later, social and economic impacts from the pandemic remain, such as higher cost of living, and declines in mental health. Many families continue to face long-standing challenges of balancing work and caring, high housing costs, managing screen time and activities, and accessing social support, all contributing to children's health and well-being. HELP's EDI data shine a light on how BC kindergarten children were doing pre- and post-pandemic.
Key Findings
Vulnerability Increased Post-pandemic
EDI data collected between 2021-2025 in BC include kindergarten children that were infants to preschool age during the height of the pandemic. The number of children vulnerable in one or more areas of development increased by 2.8 percentage points compared to the years before the COVID-19 pandemic onset. Over the past five years, 35.8% of children were vulnerable on one or more scales of the EDI-the highest provincial vulnerability rate in BC to date.
Two decades of research shows the predictive capability of EDI vulnerability: without additional support and care, children who are vulnerable on one or more scales of the EDI are more likely to experience future challenges in their school years and beyond. This level of vulnerability has significant social and economic costs to BC, not only as children start school but throughout their lives.
Socio-economic Conditions, Experiences and Developmental Health
A socio-economic gradient exists for children's experiences and developmental health outcomes, meaning children in higher income households or neighbourhoods are more likely to experience environments that promote healthy development than children in lower income households or neighbourhoods. This relationship was seen through linkage of CHEQ and EDI records—household income is related to physical activity, learning, social connections, and community experiences, which are in turn connected to developmental health outcomes.
EDI Data Collection
The EDI questionnaire is completed by kindergarten teachers in participating school districts in February of the school year for each of the children in their classroom. The EDI gathers information across five core areas of early child development: Physical Health & Well-being, Social Competence, Emotional Maturity, Language & Cognitive Development, and Communication Skills & General Knowledge. Typically, EDI data are reported for the province over a 2-4 year period called a “Wave”. To observe the changes in children's developmental health after the COVID-19 pandemic onset, data have been grouped to follow children across the province before (2012–2020) and after the onset of the pandemic (2021–2025) across 57 BC school districts.
EDI Participation and Demographic Summary
| Pre-Covid 1 (2012-2013) |
Pre-Covid 2 (2014-2016) |
Pre-Covid 3 (2017-2020) |
Post-Covid (2021-2025) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total EDI | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Male | 51% | 51% | 51% | 51% |
| Female | 49% | 49% | 49% | 49% |
| ELL | 21% | 21% | 22% | 25% |
| Children with disabilities or diverse abilities | 3% | 3% | 4% | 6% |
From 2021-25, 35.8% or 12,038 kindergarten children were vulnerable on one or more scales of the EDI. This rate is higher than in the years prior to the pandemic when vulnerability rates were between 31.9-33.0%. This means that more than a third of children entering kindergarten were vulnerable on one or more areas of development important to their future success.
EDI Vulnerability Trend for 57 School Districts, pre- and post-COVID
Males, English Language Learners, and children in neighbourhoods with lower average socio-economic status were more likely to be vulnerable on the EDI. However, increased vulnerability following the pandemic was seen across genders, in both English Language Learners and non-English Language Learners, and in children living in neighbourhoods with both high and low average socio-economic status.
EDI Scales
While EDI overall vulnerability provides a summary of the developmental health of kindergarten children, more specific information about each area of development may be found at the scale level.
The figure below shows the trends in vulnerability over time on all five scales of the EDI. Vulnerability increased across all scales of the EDI post-pandemic. Emotional Maturity, Social Competence, and Communication Skills and General Knowledge were the scales with the highest vulnerability increases post-pandemic. While the Language and Cognitive Development scale has had the lowest vulnerability rates over time, the rates have been steadily increasing. Physical Health and Well-being has fluctuated more over time, but increased post-pandemic.
EDI Scale-level Trends in Vulnerability, pre- and post-COVID
In a kindergarten classroom of 20 children, on average, 7 children were vulnerable on at least one developmental area, and 2 of those children were vulnerable on three or more areas. Here are some examples of what these post-pandemic changes look like across BC classrooms and what these scales represent:
- fewer children demonstrated early literacy skills (part of Language and Cognitive Development),
- more children were socially withdrawn (part of Social Competence),
- more children were anxious or hyperactive (part of Emotional Maturity),
- more children had difficulty communicating with teachers and peers (part of Communication and General Knowledge).
Multiple Vulnerabilities in BC
While over 1 in 3 children were vulnerable on a single area of development, some were vulnerable on two, three, four or all five areas of development measured by the EDI. Compared to trends before the pandemic, the percentage of children vulnerable on two or more areas of development increased to 21.6% or over 7,200 children.
This suggests that in addition to increased rates of overall vulnerability in BC over the long-term, the complexity of vulnerability also increased. Children and families experienced more challenges and vulnerable children had increased struggles across more areas of their lives.
Percentage of Vulnerability by Number of Scales Vulnerable, pre- and post-COVID
The Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (CHEQ) is completed by parents/caregivers of kindergarten children in the months before or at the start of the school year. The CHEQ gathers information across five domains strongly linked to children’s health and well-being: Physical Health & Well-being, Language & Cognition, Social & Emotional Experiences, Early Learning & Care, and Community & Context, including family demographic information.
Having both CHEQ and EDI data on the same child gives more insight on how early experiences and contexts are related to their developmental health in the early years in light of the social and economic changes post-pandemic. There were 9,867 CHEQ records collected in 2023 and 2024, and 4,968 were linked to EDI records.
New to the CHEQ? Learn the basics on our CHEQ Overview page.
Household income of families responding to the CHEQ
There are fewer parents/caregivers with incomes less than $50,000 that completed a CHEQ as compared to the higher income categories. Children vulnerable on the EDI are less likely to have a CHEQ completed for them by their parents/caregivers.
Early Experiences & Environments (CHEQ) and Vulnerability (EDI)
The relationship between early experiences and developmental health is a reflection of how well families with young children are supported. Families across BC are diverse and many face barriers to accessing supports and services. On the 2024 CHEQ Summary report, many families reported barriers to accessing community and health resources including health care professionals (47%), child care (80%) and community activities (37%). High quality and accessible child care and community programs can provide outdoor play opportunities, literacy and peer experiences, and social opportunities for parents as well.
CHEQ data about household income and early experiences linked with EDI data demonstrate the relationship between the social determinants of health, the daily experiences of children and families, and child developmental health and well-being. Children in families with more resources were more likely to meet the 24-hour movement guidelines, read with adults, have close friendships with peers, and play outdoors, and were also less likely to be vulnerable on the EDI.
Social Determinants of Health
Family Income
Daily Experiences of Children & Families
Child Development & Well-being
Select a topic to explore:
Physical Activity
Parents/caregivers report how often their children take part in physical activity while participating in both organized activities (e.g. soccer, swimming lessons) and unorganized activities (e.g. riding a bike).
Children with Many Physical Activity Experiences by Household Income
Families with higher incomes were more likely to report their children experienced many physical activities, meeting the 24-Hour Movement Guideline recommendations of 60 minutes or more per day.
29.7% of children with many physical activity experiences were vulnerable on one or more scales of the EDI, compared to 40.2% of children with few daily physical activity experiences.
EDI Vulnerability by Physical Activity Experiences
Screen Time
Parents/caregivers report how often, on average, their children spend time using an electronic device like a tablet, smartphone, TV, or computer.
Children with <1 Hour Daily Screen Time by Household Income
Families with higher incomes were more likely to report their children met the 24-Hour Movement Guideline screen time recommendation of 1 hour per day or less.
27% of children who met the screen time recommendation were vulnerable on one or more scales of the EDI, compared to 47% of children reported to have watched 2 or more hours per day.
EDI Vulnerability by Daily Screen Time
Early Literacy Experiences (Language & Cognition)
Parents/caregivers report how often an adult in the child's household reads books or tells stories with the child. The CHEQ also includes questions about other early literacy activities like singing songs, drumming, talking about words and pictures, pretend play, building things and more.
Children Reading Most or Every Day with Adults by Household Income
Families with higher incomes were more likely to report children reading with adults daily.
27% of children who had many daily early literacy experiences were vulnerable on one or more scales of the EDI compared to 58% of children with few daily literacy experiences.
EDI Vulnerability by Early Literacy Experiences
Peer Experiences
Parents/caregivers report how often their children spend time around other children and have close friendships with peers.
Children with Many Peer Experiences by Household Income
Families with higher incomes were more likely to report their children had many peer experiences.
28% of children with many peer experiences were vulnerable on one or more scales of the EDI, compared to 47% of children with few peer experiences.
EDI Vulnerability by Peer Experiences
Outdoor Play
Parents/caregivers are asked how frequently their children play outdoors.
Children Playing Outdoors Daily by Household Income
Families with higher incomes were more likely to report that their children played outdoors daily.
31% of children that played outdoors 6-7 days per week were vulnerable on one or more scales of the EDI, compared to 42% of children that played outdoors once a week or less.
EDI Vulnerability by Outdoor Play Frequency
More information about what we are learning through the CHEQ and ongoing CHEQ-EDI linkage will be available in 2026. Annual CHEQ data reports are available here.
The COVID pandemic disruptions amplified an already concerning trend of persistently high vulnerability rates in BC. Vulnerability rates have never been higher in BC at 35.8%. Increasing vulnerability following the pandemic is seen across Canada as well.
The CHEQ and EDI linked data connect household income and early experiences to children's developmental health. Extensive research using EDI data in BC and beyond has consistently shown the predictive capability of the EDI for children’s outcomes in their school years and beyond. Higher vulnerability rates mean more children struggling in the short and long term. For example, research shows that children vulnerable on the social and emotional scales of the EDI are more likely to have a mental health diagnosis in adolescence. With 24 years of EDI data collected in BC, we can now do more to predict trajectories from the early years to adulthood.
High rates of early childhood vulnerability call for greater investment in younger generations. Following a decrease after the pandemic, child poverty rates are on the rise in BC. Housing affordability (ownership and renting) has worsened for many families raising young children. While child care has expanded in BC, access is uneven, and many families continue to pay thousands more per year in extra fees. HELP has long called for increased investment to improve parental leave, expand affordable quality child care, provide income supports to eliminate child poverty, and improve community services for children aged 0-6.
While families and communities across BC are diverse, many are experiencing poor mental health, feeling isolated, and needing additional community supports. There are many ways to support families and make communities healthier for children. Community-level EDI data will be available in 2026 to support local community planning efforts.
These findings underscore the need...
- to continue to work toward ending child and family poverty and reducing income inequality
- to expand affordable and high quality child care and low-barrier family supports in the early years
- to consider the social determinants of health and prioritize equity in supporting families
- to support the education system to meet the growing needs of students
- to provide screen-free opportunities for child, family, and community connection
- to get kids (and families) outdoors and moving
- to promote social and emotional learning opportunities for children and families
- for ongoing monitoring of children's developmental status through the EDI
Resources
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Children and Family Development, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Education and Child Care for the EDI project, and the Ministry of Health for the CHEQ project.
Vulnerability in Social & Emotional Development Remain Highest Areas of Concern
The two EDI scales with the highest vulnerability rates are Emotional Maturity and Social Competence. These scales measure behaviours that relate to the most common childhood mental health issues and are consistent with other Canadian studies showing increased incidence of mental health concerns for young children.