Ansumana sat listening intently to her teacher before playing happily with her friends when I met her earlier this year. Just three years old, she and her older brother Bandu are students at the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) early childhood class serving urban refugees in Kampala, Uganda. Their father, whom I spoke briefly with, told me they fled the Central African Republic … [Read more...] about An Early Start in the Most Challenging Circumstances
Early Childhood Development
How Nudges can Help Improve Adult-Child Interactions
If you're like many people, “nudging” is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of “behavioral economics.” For example, "nudging" can help families eat healthier by making fruits and vegetables the most prominently featured item in the grocery store. Nudges and other types of low-cost tweaks to policy design have had some impressive impacts in Latin America and the … [Read more...] about How Nudges can Help Improve Adult-Child Interactions
Put on Your Oxygen Mask First: How Self-compassion Improves Child Development
I am often told by my colleagues and friends that I am too harsh on myself and that I should have more self-compassion. I used to be quite unfamiliar with this concept. Self-compassion? Isn’t this a term people use to find excuses for themselves and be self-indulgent? … [Read more...] about Put on Your Oxygen Mask First: How Self-compassion Improves Child Development
A Beginner’s Guide to Advocating for the Children
For many, January signifies an opportunity to reassess priorities, dream big, and create goals to better themselves and the world around them. New year’s resolutions require focus, passion, and commitment– all qualities found in an effective advocate. But advocating for quality early childhood development (ECD) programs for millions of children who remain in danger of not … [Read more...] about A Beginner’s Guide to Advocating for the Children
Puppets that Teach Good Eating Habits
by Julia Johannsen and Michiko Tamashiro In District 8 of El Alto, Bolivia, 21% of children between the ages of 0 and 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition, according to an IDB study to be published in 2015. This is not the case for Edysson and Joycy, who are enjoying a happy and healthy childhood in the same predominantly Aymara, socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood … [Read more...] about Puppets that Teach Good Eating Habits