We had a wonderful and robust discussion with Drs. Dana Suskind and Pamela Truelove-Walker and members of the Early Childhood Caucus on Tuesday at our "Focusing on Early Childhood Forum."
Dana Suskind, MD, Co-Director of the TMW Center for Early Learning and Public Health at the University of Chicago, author of 2022's "Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child's Potential, Fulfilling Society's Promise," and Pamela Truelove-Walker, Ed.D., Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE) Strategy at the TMW Center, were our special guests.
Dr. Suskind noted that 85% of the physical growth of the human brain is in the first two years of a child's life, unlike other mammals. She said the universe expected us to finish off that development in the form of nurturing interactions. Nurturing interaction feeds the brain and helps develop cognitive and non-cognitive skills. But much of the focus is on K-12, not those first few years when development is happening.
The United States spends less on early childhood education and care than any other developed nation, and a fragmented system is the result of that underfunding.
The suggestion is one that we in the early childhood sphere know, hear, and share often - we need to invest. Invest in wages for our hard-working early education professionals, invest in high-quality slots, and invest in the system overall. And parents throughout the country need support and choices.
Those of us who were in that hearing room know this - we need to continue to make it known outside of that hearing room. Connecticut has policies in place that we know work and are models for the country. We also must invest in programs and wrap-around services that empower parents and grow opportunities for our youth. And finally, parents need living wages, housing security, and high-quality health care.
Thank you to Merrill Gay at the CT Early Childhood Alliance for helping facilitate the visit with Dr. Suskind and Dr. Truelove-Walker.
You can watch the full event on CT-N HERE. WTNH posted the station's coverage of the event HERE. |