An Eye to Brazil

     The Center on the Developing Child Harvard University has a page dedicated to some of the work going on globally in the EC field. I was particularly interested in Brazil's Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância (NCPI). This is a partnership between five different groups including "Developing Child, Fundação Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal (FMCSV), the Medical School of the University of Sao Paulo, Insper, Sabara Children’s Hospital, and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard" aimed at training policy makers to use the emergent and relevant science of child development to inform policy and program development.

     During the seminars, policy makers and professionals collaborate, learn from one another, and help sculpt programs to serve the nation of Brazil, with a particular eye to the impacts of socioeconomic inequality. Three developments from last year's collaboration included:

• "A comprehensive national “Legal Framework for Early Childhood” was developed by the 27 members of the Federal Congress who participated in ELP and it was adopted by the lower House of the Congress in early 2015.
• A new early childhood development program in the city of São Paulo led by its First Lady.
• A new home visiting program, designed by the coordinator for child health in the Federal Ministry of Health, and piloted by the First Ladies of São Paulo and Fortaleza."

     By educating policy makers on the science behind child development, a direct link is made between research and results. This type of collaborative partnership between science and programs not only strengthens the children of the country, but the profession and professionals in the country as well.

Hugs for a Better Future

In lieu of recieving a newsletter from ZERO TO THREE, I spent a little more time digging on their website. I found something that resonated with the course readings this week. An article entitled "Why Hugging Your Baby is Good for the Economy". The article begins by once again addressing the importance of strong, supportive loving bonds in a child's life as the basis for health development. The author, Patricia Cole, discusses the protective benefits of a secure bond with a parent or caregiver, along with the advantages this bond has in later schooling. Cole also talks about stress and it's impact on a child's relationships with parents/caregivers. Citing Dr Edward Tronick's "Still Face Experiment", Cole reports that children faced with unresponsive or depressed parents/caregivers experience distress, and over time in a heighten state of distress, will emotionally shut down. (If you want a truly harrowing experience of what parental abuse and toxic stress at home can do check out "A Child of Rage".)

Here's the link to economy:
"The link should be clear: children in stressful environments whose close relationships don’t buffer hardships; to children without the social-emotional foundations of learning; to children falling behind in school; to adults with lower earnings power and greater health problems; to a workforce that can’t compete in the global economy." (Cole, 2012)

Cole goes on to explore options for supporting children's early relationships, and therefore their later workplace success and productivity, including: paid family leave; home visiting programs; high quality early care and learning programs; expanding Medicaid; mental health programs for infants and young children; and policies and practices that support maltreated children.

I have to admit that it breaks my heart a little that we can't do better by our youth for the simple sake of doing better by them. We are a nation (and perhaps a world) motivated by dollar signs. Nothing seems to be more important than the almighty dollar; the wealth it brings and the wealth it takes away. So having to set my altruistic side aside and 'chase the dollar' in terms of giving kids what they need for a happy and healthy start in life turns me a little green in the gills. But is seems that there's support for everyone here: humanitarians and economists (not that they are mutually exclusive). No matter how you look at it, giving kids their best start --at home and in EC programs-- is what's actually best. Best for the child, best for the economy, and (maybe) best for the world.

Connecting to Zambia

This term I have the privilege of developing a rapport and relationship with a woman in Zambia who is pursuing a career in ECE. Mwaka, who I first came into contact with in Foundations, lives in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia.

Lusaka is the largest, and one of the fastest growing, cities of southern Africa. Lusaka has an urban and metropolitan population of approximately 4 million people (approximately 16 million in Zambia). It is estimated that an average of 68% of the country's people live below the national poverty level. Mining and agriculture are the two greatest sources of employment for citizens, however under- and unemployment are significant issues.

Educational programs are both public and private. Private, fee-based programs offer students quality educational and increased gender inclusion, while public schools are often overcrowded and under-resourced and the number of out-of-school children is rising (estimated 700,000 in 2015 up from 500,000 in 2013). Young children are often charged with compromising education for helping family meet basic needs. In partnership with UNICEF, the government of Zambia is working to increased educational standards at all levels, including early childhood.

According to UNICEF, only about 15% of children in first grade reported pre-school experience. Part of the reason for this is an insufficient number of ECE facilities. Part of Mwaka's professional goals is to impact these numbers and the children that they represent. Particularly, Mwaka is passionate about the developing quality ECE programs open to the public that mirror the education and experience offered in private programs. Below are links to Mwaka's blog as well as to the UNICEF Annual Report.


Mwaka's blog: https://mwakambikusitalewanikapassionforchildren.wordpress.com/2016/07/23/consequences-of-stress-on-childrens-development/

UNICEF, (2015). Zambia. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/about/annualreport/files/Zambia_2015_COAR.pdf

ZERO TO THREE

The organization that I chose to follow this term is ZERO TO THREE. The organization serves to connect medical, mental, and social health best practices with the parents and caregivers of infants and children. Their programs, products and services are available globally, aiming to give each child the best start in life. ZERO TO THREE recognizes and advocates strongly for the early connections, primary the connections between children and their parents, caregivers, and early childhood professionals.

My primary interest (and frequent soapbox) is social emotional development and learning. This organization feeds directly into this interest, and I wish I had known about them years ago. In an article dated September 2015, Clarie Lerner discusses the fundamental skills needed for school readiness. Surprise, surprise, it's social-emotional skills!

Lerner reports:

"More than 20 years ago, ZERO TO THREE’s seminal publication Heart Start: The Emotional Foundations of School Readiness identified the essential characteristics a child needs to take on the world of formal education: confidence, curiosity, intentionality, self-control, relatedness (being able to engage with others based on a sense of understanding), capacity to communicate, and cooperativeness. Often these attributes are called “soft skills,” although they are anything but mushy. In reality, social-emotional development goes hand-in-hand with cognitive development as the bricks and mortar of early brain architecture"

Interestingly, nowhere on the list of skills needed for kindergarten readiness are the things the media pushes on parents each day like early reading and math. In an age where websites purport to teach your child 'everything they need' and compilations of classical music preparations promise to make your child smarter, it's easy for any parent to feel that they're behind the curve if they're child isn't ahead of the game. But what is it that truly makes a child ahead of the game? A loving relationship that fosters safety, security, and confidence. Not only do these strong, loving relationships foster compassion, empathy, an moral development, but "also give children the confidence to explore their world, to become curious, eager learners" (Lerner, 2015). Lerner goes on to discuss that behavioral issues and challenges are often rooted in negative early childhood experiences or lack of secure, loving, safe relationship. "High expulsion rates and bullying incidents are an indicator that we are not helping parents and caregivers, starting from birth, to support the positive social and emotional development that is the foundation for all learning, future relationships, and school readiness" (Lerner, 2015.

Lerner goes on to advocate for policies supporting early development and strong families, from paid family leave, to home visiting, to child care, to preschool. The child's behavior is diagnostic of a problem in the system, not a problem in the child. Therefore Lerner and ZERO TO THREE focus attention on supporting the child's supports: families, caregivers, and early childhood professionals. Supporting healthy systems supports the development of healthy children, and social-emotional health supports later happiness and academic/professional success.

Not a bad mission from my perspective.

With regard to changing demographics and increasing diversity within communities, ZERO TO THREE also offers an article titled: Creating Equity of Opportunity Through Early Learning Policies. To be honest, I skimmed it due to time demands. But it certainly offered insights that I'm interested in returning to. 


Lerner, C. (2015). To Find the Roots of School Readiness, Look Back to the Beginning. ZERO TO THREE. Retrieved November 5, 2016 from https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/162-to-find-the-roots-of-school-readiness-look-back-to-the-beginning

ZERO TO THREE webiste:  https://www.zerotothree.org/