By Carolina Freire Classes begin in Panama in a few of months, but Jaime’s mother isn’t sure if she’ll be enrolling him in preschool. What if he doesn’t like it or he gets sick a lot? Wouldn’t it be better for him to stay at the neighbor’s house? … [Read more...] about Mija, Would you Keep an Eye on my Boy?
In Search of Lost Data
By Luis Tejerina It’s difficult for a statistician to reconstruct information about the impact of a policy intervention during the early years of life on an individual who has already reached adulthood. Information is needed over the span of 20 years in order to see effects on dimensions such as income or education levels; therefore, long-term evidence of early childhood … [Read more...] about In Search of Lost Data
Winnie the Pooh Isn’t on the Guest List
By Emmanuelle Sánchez-Monin A few days ago, a community in Masaya, Nicaragua, opened the doors of its new Community Children’s Center or CICO. This building is the first of 40 centers expected to open before February 2013 in various poor neighborhoods around the country. These centers are the most tangible and eagerly-awaited product (but not the most important) of a new … [Read more...] about Winnie the Pooh Isn’t on the Guest List
Helping children succeed in life softly
By Daniela Philipp. I recently came across a New York Times article on the book “How children succeed” by Paul Tough. In this book Mr. Tough looks for answers to troublesome questions like: Why do certain children succeed while others fail? Why is it that poor children are less likely to succeed than middle-class children? What can we do to steer more children … [Read more...] about Helping children succeed in life softly
Quality matters in child–caregiver interactions
We recently had the privilege of hosting a meeting of renowned international experts in early childcare service quality at the IDB’s office in Washington, DC, to discuss childcare quality for children ages 0-3. The group reflected on two topics that frequently come up in discussions with programs that offer childcare services in the region. Which factors define childcare … [Read more...] about Quality matters in child–caregiver interactions