Child Initiative

The little discussion that there was on the issue of self-esteem during adolescence seemed to suggest that it was normal (“Care must be taken to balance the expected decrease in children self-esteem and parental support, as children move into full puberty.” [Ibid., p. 36]) or that more focus should be directed towards boys (“How should policies and practices in schools and other institutions be amended to accommodate the stress of early adolescence and learning? How should support for boys be different from that provided to girls?” [Ibid., p. 33]) Some conference participants noted that the Canadian Girl Child Initiative was addressing girls’ issues, and that “very little attention has been paid to how boys’ gender roles affect their health and well being.”