Healthy development

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding provides the best nutritional start for infants and promotes their healthy growth and development.

Almost 2 in 5 (39%) babies were exclusively breastfed to around 4 months.

There is growing evidence that breastfeeding may have wide-ranging benefits in infancy and later in life, including improved mother–infant bonding; protection against infectious diseases; and reduced risk of sudden infant death syndrome, Type 1 diabetes and some childhood cancers. In Australia and internationally, it is recommended that infants be exclusively breastfed up to 6 months of age.

How many children are breastfed? 

According to the 2010 Australian National Infant Feeding Survey, although exclusive breastfeeding is initiated for most babies (90%), only 39% of infants were exclusively breastfed to around 4 months, and 15% to around 6 months. Babies who did not regularly use a dummy were more likely to be exclusively breastfed to around 4 months compared with babies who did regularly use a dummy.

Are maternal characteristics associated with breastfeeding rates?

Maternal age, education and smoking were associated with rates of exclusive breastfeeding. Babies of mothers aged over 25 were up to twice as likely as babies of mothers aged 24 and under to be exclusively breastfed to around 4 months.

Mothers with a tertiary education were more likely to breastfeed to around 4 months (48%) than mothers who had completed Year 11 or below (27%).

Mothers who smoked daily or occasionally were less likely to have exclusively breastfed to around 4 months (19% and 28% respectively) than mothers who did not smoke (41%).

Do rates of breastfeeding vary across population groups?

Indigenous babies were half as likely to be exclusively breastfed to around 4 months as non-Indigenous babies (19% compared with 40%).

Babies from the least socioeconomically disadvantaged areas were 1.4 times as likely to be exclusively breastfed to around 4 months (45%) as babies from the most disadvantaged areas (33%).

Duration of exclusive breastfeeding, 2010

Note: Refer to A picture of Australia’s Children 2012, Appendix B: Methods for explanation of confidence intervals.

Source: AIHW 2011. 2010 Australian National Infant Feeding Survey: indicator results

Dental health

Good oral health in childhood contributes to better wellbeing and improved dental outcomes in adulthood, resulting in less decay and the loss of fewer natural teeth.

45% of 6 year olds and 39% of 12 year olds had dental decay in 2007.

As well as the pain, discomfort and difficulties in eating that are caused by dental disease, poor oral health can affect our quality of life, social interactions and self-esteem. Children with poor dental health may demonstrate problems in behaviour, peer interaction and school absences, which in turn can negatively affect academic performance. Most dental diseases are largely preventable, but although the prevalence of dental decay in Australian children appears to be decreasing over time, risk factors associated with diet, hygiene and oral care remain.

How many children have no dental decay?

According to the 2007 Child Dental Health Survey, more than half of all children aged 6 and 12 had no decay (55% and 61% respectively).

How many decayed, missing or filled teeth do children have?

Younger children (aged 6) had an average of 2 decayed, missing or filled teeth, and older children (aged 12) an average of 1. This suggests that the average number of decayed teeth was about twice as high in baby teeth as in permanent teeth.

Does oral health vary across population groups? 

Six year olds in Remote and very remote areas had more than twice as many teeth with decay as those in Major cities (3.6 compared with 1.6).

Children living in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas had more decay than children in areas of least disadvantage (2 and 1.5 times as many decayed teeth, on average, for 6 and 12 year olds, respectively).

Indigenous children were much less likely to be decay-free at age 6 than non-Indigenous children in 2002 (21% compared with 54%); and also less likely at age 12 (48% compared with 60%).

Mean number of decayed, missing or filled teeth among children aged 6 and 12, 2007

 

Notes:
1. Excludes Victoria as data not provided.
2. Refer to A picture of Australia’s Children 2012, Appendix B: Methods for explanation of confidence intervals.

Source: Child Dental Health Survey 2007, unpublished data.

Early learning

The early years of a child’s life are important for literacy skills. Reading to children contributes to the early development of vocabulary and listening comprehension.

Almost 3 in 4 (74%) children under 2 were read to or told stories regularly in 2011.

Learning to read affects a child’s wellbeing. Poor reading skills can adversely affect school performance, with the effects lasting into adulthood. Reading to children in the early years is regarded as a likely aid to literacy success.

How many children are read to or told stories? 

According to the 2011 ABS Childhood Education and Care Survey, about three-quarters (74%) of children aged 0–2 were read to or told stories by a parent on 3 or more days in the previous week (that is, regularly). A majority of children (59%) were read to or told stories on 6–7 days while 20% of children were not read to or told stories at all. In 2011, children in couple families appeared more likely than those in one-parent families to be read to or told stories regularly (76% compared with 66%).

Does this change as children grow up? 

The likelihood of being read to at least once a week appears to increase as children grow older. Only 4% of children aged 3–8 were not read to or told stories at all in the previous week.

Does reading to children vary across population groups? 

Children in the areas of least socioeconomic disadvantage were also more likely to have been read to or told stories (80%) than those in the areas of greatest socioeconomic disadvantage (65%).

Children in households where a language other than English was mainly used were less likely than children in households where English was the main language to have been read to or told stories regularly (53% compared with 77%).

Children aged 0–2 who were read to or told stories on 3 or more days in previous week, 2011

 

Note: Refer to A picture of Australia’s Children 2012, Appendix B: Methods for explanation of remoteness areas, socioeconomic status (SES) and confidence intervals.

Source: Based on ABS Childhood Education and Care Survey 2011, Customised report, 2012.