Copyright © 2017. Interamerican Development Bank. If you wish to republish this article, please request authorization at sph-communication@iadb.org.  By Florencia López-Boo. Para leer este artículo en español, haz click aquí. Poor child development has important consequences for the wellbeing of children in particular, and of society as a whole. Profound socioeconomic … [Read more...] about Inaction In the Early Childhood Years Has a High Cost

By Florencia López-Boo. There is not enough evidence about the specific critical and cost-effective actions needed to improve child care quality in Latin America. In contrast with sectors such as primary education, in which the region has invested significant effort in collecting indicators on teacher quality, resources in schools, and levels of student learning (PISA), … [Read more...] about 3 Steps to Measure Child Care Quality

By Florencia López-Boo When seated in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, sometimes we’re left scratching our heads at the receptionist’s choice of programming for the lone TV left to drone on the entire day. As a captive audience, patients have no choice but to watch the soap opera or other show that they normally wouldn’t tune in to. … [Read more...] about Reimagining the Waiting Room TV

It seems that the notion of childhood is not (and has not been) a fixed concept. Actually, it does vary greatly throughout history and cultures. A 1960’s book I’ve been fascinated about, “Centuries of Childhood: a Social History of Family Life” by Ariès, argues that before the seventeenth century, childhood was not a recognized concept. It was only sometime between 1600 and the … [Read more...] about When Mini Adults became Children

By Florencia López-Boo.  I don’t think there’s any better way to ensure that children are bored and disconnected from learning than by shutting them up in a classroom and bombarding them with rules and countless tests. My field observations at child care centers and preschools have led me to think that many times children are treated like lambs in a pen instead of being … [Read more...] about Wild Child