Last week, the largest US program for early childhood development turned 50 years. The program, called Head Start, serves over one million children each year and it provides comprehensive services (education, nutrition, health, and parenting) to low-income children and families. … [Read more...] about A program that makes history
If Parents Only Knew
Research carried out in Chile and in Brazil shows that, regardless of socioeconomic status, parents tend to think that babies do not understand when they are talked to and that learning begins later on in life (in some cases as late as in the preschool years!). There is also little awareness of how important is the exposure to learning experiences early on for the development … [Read more...] about If Parents Only Knew
Scaling Programs with Success
by Marta Rubio Codina. The pioneering work of Sally Grantham-McGregor and colleagues in Jamaica and the impressive results of the so-called Jamaican study involved 129 chronically malnourished or stunted young children and 32 non-stunted children living in poor households in Kingston. Recent research has showed that the short-term improvements found in IQ after 2 … [Read more...] about Scaling Programs with Success
3 Key Indicators to Measure Early Childhood Development
by Claudia Cappa. The Convention on the Rights of the Child signed 25 years ago states that a child has the right to develop to “the maximum extent possible” (Article 6) and that “States Parties recognize the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development” (Article 27). … [Read more...] about 3 Key Indicators to Measure Early Childhood Development
When Mini Adults became Children
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