By Francisco Cajiao Some time ago, the Inter-American Development Bank held a forum centering on the early childhood strategy that Colombia’s Office of the President has been coordinating under the leadership of First Lady María Clemencia Rodríguez. De cero a siempre (From Zero to Always), as the program has been so aptly named, is of particular importance to the country’s … [Read more...] about Why to invest “From Zero to Always”?
World Autism Day, To be Inclusive or Exclusive?
by María Jose Prieto, Ph.D. Mommy, come, hurry! –said Jimena in awe– The moon exploded! This is how Jimena, a girl with autism, described fireworks: an exciting yet scary image for her. For Jimena, like for so many children with autism, any daily experience may easily turn into something scary or impossible to comprehend. Often, this frustration extends to the … [Read more...] about World Autism Day, To be Inclusive or Exclusive?
Early Quality. Otherwise, It’ll be Too Late
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpUe_Cp9LUI The quality of care and interaction during the first five years of life has a major impact on childhood development and is a critical determinant of a child’s future health, behavior, and intellectual abilities. In Latin America and the Caribbean, access to early childhood programs has increased over the past two decades, … [Read more...] about Early Quality. Otherwise, It’ll be Too Late
The Relationship between Gears and Breastfeeding
by Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, PhD Blog written for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). It is estimated that improving exclusive breastfeeding rates worldwide could prevent 800,000 infants from dying every year. The good news is that we now have at our disposal the evidence based tools to make successful breastfeeding promotion happen not only at a small but also at a … [Read more...] about The Relationship between Gears and Breastfeeding
The Other Intelligence
A few months ago, The New York Times Magazine (NYT) published an interesting article that discussed different educational programs that are trying to incorporate into the curriculum activities aimed at improving children’s social-emotional skills. On the IDB’s blog Quality Education Is Possible, Aimee Verdisco wrote a post in reaction to this article, reflecting on the impact … [Read more...] about The Other Intelligence