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Pam- Ask Patti to Act up time in
me to meet w/ Nicle + Jen he this
August 12, 1997
report, send n ch This deart on
MEMORANDUM
day I'm to have meeting. Manles
TO:
Hillary Rodham Clinton
10ve
FROM:
Nicole Rabner
To
Jennifer Klein
RE:
Conference Report
Let's
discussing
Attached please find (finally!) the latest and, we hope, near final draft of the Conference report
from the White House Conference on Early Childhood Development and Learning.
Please note that in the back of the report are a series of "sidebars," which provide detailed
discussion on a number of Conference topics; in the final report, they will be placed
appropriately alongside the report text. We are also working on three additional sections: a letter
from you and the President to open the report; a section outlining the significant
accomplishments of the Administration for children; and a brief executive summary.
We look forward to your edits and feedback.
Recommendations for parents ? destill
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CARLI CHILDROOD INSI.
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JULY 18-21, 1995
LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER
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intro lefter, which may
week. Naomi said this
will forward to you next
resisting the Ed Depts
attempts to "sanitize" all
reclinton accoppriments
out 50 The dsc.
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"HOW ARE THE CHILDREN?"
Ii_
REPORT OF
I
THE WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE
ON EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING
le
In many African cultures, when you meet someone you know on the road or at the
market,
you don't say: Hello, how are you? Instead you ask: Hello, how are the children?
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004
Contents
"HOW ARE THE CHILDREN?"
REPORT OF
THE WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE
ON EARLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING
It
FOREWORD
lc
Missing
de
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
lc
MILESTONES
L Introduction
I
THE WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE
EARLY Child hood Developmentand Learning:
lcH
H WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT (OUNG CHILDREN! TEN KEY LESSONS
a
COPSI New brain research underscores the importance of education and the power of effort
2 Ghildren differ from adults EARLY Experience Affect How Brains ARe "WiRed
caps 3 The young brain is a work in progress
4 Children are individuals from the start Every child Is unique
5 Relationships matter children Learn in the Context of Important Relationships
cap's 6 Other caregivers can meet young children's needs-but don't take the place of mom
or dad
caps
Small talk" has big consequences
caps 8 Children need many kinds of stimulation
cap 9 Prevention is crucial
capro 10 The cradle will rock
lc III WE KNOW WHAT WORKS
caps Preventive, family oriented health care works
caps Family support and parent education work especially when there is follow up
capsHig High quality child care and education work a
cap 3A comprehensive approach works
lc
X
BUILDING ON SUCCESS
e/cups
What parents and families can de
Local What communities can de
A
What educational leaders can de
1/cap/5
What business leaders can de
e/caps
What the media can do
Icup3
What government can de
e/caps
What researchers can do
e/cups
cups
le V
VI
How ARE THE CHILDREN?
Conference Report - May 27 draft - page 1
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EARLY CHILDHOOD INST.
1
005
NOTES
missing
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SELECTED RESOURCES
LIST OF SATELLITE SITES
for Young Children Children and Their samilies
Federal Sources of Assistances
A
Conference Report - May 27 draft - page 2
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006
A
V. How ARE THE CHILDREN?
le
In many African villages, acquaintances greeting each other on the road or in a
marketplace do not ask, "How are you?" Instead they inquire: "How are the children?"
That simple question has deep resonance as we look toward a new century. It
has often been said that to gauge a nation's well-being, the first question one should
ask is: "How are the children?" Today, we must respond to this question with a mixed
report. But if we act now-if we look at the research, if we build on success, if we root
out programs and practices that do not work, if we consider the impact on young
children before making any new policy or program-we can make a difference. And if,
we do, imagine the answer today's infants and toddlers will be able to give when they
are asked, in coming decades, "How are the children?"
Many things we need can wait. the child cannot.
Now is the time his bones are being formed;
his blood is being made; his mind is being developed.
To him we cannot say tomorrow. his name is today.
Gabriela Mistral
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007
Background
1. THE WHITE Interduction HOUSE CONFERENCE CONFERENCE
Nature's gifts are awesome-soaring mountains, vast oceans, shooting stars.
Now, scientists using new technologies are giving us glimpses of smaller miracles that
are just as inspiring. Researchers are studying the minute mechanisms that make life
possible, and in the process they are illuminating early brain development-a
phenomenon of such elegance, complexity, and precision that it surely ranks as one of
the world's great wonders. Today, President Clinton because is making researchers' findings
are ^^ usable and practical for all Americans based on RIC conviction that we all have a stake
being
in our children's healthy development and learning.
made
accessable
to
On April 17, 1997, President Clinton convened the White House Conference on
Early Child Development and Learning: What New Research on the Brain Tells Us
About Our Youngest Children.. [SIDEBAR: CONFERENCE PROGRAM) This was an
IS focusing on how
historic day, the first research time that a President has drawn national attention to on
cap-A)E
child development and how ff can strengthen and brighten our nation's future. Thanks
to bipartisan support, the federal government has long supported research on the
biological mechanisms that underlie early development and learning. Federal funds
also have sustained large-scale early care and education initiatives, such as Head
Start. Evaluations of these efforts have yielded new knowledge about the kinds of
policies and programs that promote healthy child development.
As a result, experts from around the nation have gathered a large body of
knowledge that holds promise for improving the lives of America's children and families.
Their insights have bearing on many fields, notably health care, education, and the
world of work. For too long, however, these findings have been limited to laboratories
and research libraries, far removed from the living rooms where American families raise
their children day by day.
One reason this Conference took place is because Precident Clinton believes
that the government has an important role to play in helping parents meet their
caps
responsibilities as parents-not by telling them how to rear their children, but by
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EARLY CHILDHOOD INST.
5
008
providing information and promoting policies that may be beneficial to them, based on
recent research and scientific discoveries.
is
federal
That's why the President has dedicated himself to our nation's children. Over the
X
last five years, He has worked with Congress to extend health coverage to as many as
five million uninsured children. He fought for and signed the Family and Medical Leave
cap
Act that has enabled 12 million Americans to take time off from work to care for new
babies or to meet other urgent family needs covered by that law. He A expanded Head
harbeen expanded
Start to include disadvantaged children aged three and younger. This new program for
1
low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers, called Early Head
Start, promotes children's healthy development and early learning, and helps parents
become better caregivers and teachers while they strive for economic independence.
The Child Care and Development Block Grant Amendments of 1996 will allow states
and communities to develop child care services that respond to the needs of their
families. Finally, the President has won the largest funding increase for education in
three decades.
At the White House Conference, the President called together experts who rarely
have the opportunity to share their views and experiences. Brain scientists, specialists
in child development, researchers and practitioners in early care and education, and
leading child advocates participated. Speakers included not only scientists, but also
everyday citizens who in their own roles have worked to create a more stimulating
environment for children. Among these were a former first-grade teacher who founded
an organization that has changed the lives of thousands of low-income children; a
parent whose experiences in an early childhood PTA gave her new confidence and
competence as she raised her young son; a police chief who has brought community
policing to his city; a Hollywood director and producer who is using his craft to raise
public awareness of the importance of the early years; and a CEO who is determined to
put on kitchen tables all over the nation information about concrete steps that families
can take to enhance their children's development.
These men and women represented some of the nation's best thinking on how to
strengthen early childhood developmentand learning. Thousands of other Americans
listened to the panelists at more than one hundred satellite sites all over the nation and
held their own discussions. Many responded with ideas and questions addressed to
the President and First Lady, and their concerns are reflected throughout this report. In
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EARLY CHILDHOOD INST.
009
particular, parents shared their own stories and expressed great eagerness to learn
more about their impact on their children.
A growing body of research now confirms that parents play a decisive role in
shaping their daughters' and sons' futures. Study after study shows that the kind of
nurture children receive in the first years of life has a direct effect on how their brains
are "wired," affecting their ability to grow into able, confident learners and productive
members of families and communities. For this reason, people who raise children bear
a great responsibility, and Conference participants pendered how to convey the
importance of parents' roles without adding to the burden that many mothers and
fathers already feel.
A key lesson that emerged from the Conference is that parenthood is the art of
the possible. While scientists report that the people who care for children have a
greater impact on early brain development than was previously known, babies don't
need "super parents" in order to thrive. Research shows that what matters most is the
quality of the relationships young children form with the adults who care for them.
Ordinary, everyday interactions-the baby talk and songs and games that are so easy
and enjoyable for children and adults alike-are exactly the types of stimulation
needed.
Researchers and practitioners at the Conference also emphasized that while the
early years offer special opportunities for parents, caregivers, and teachers, there are
countless chances over many years to influence children's development and learning.
The brain is the last organ in the body to mature, and its full development takes a
lifetime. It is never too late to help a child-or an adult-learn. That is why President
Clinton has challenged the nation to strengthen education at every level and in every
stage of life, from early childhood through post secondary and adult education
By the same token, it is never too early. And that is why the President has
has been passed
fought for and won legislation to strengthen and expand prenatal and post-partum care
for mothers and their babies. These efforts, and many others aimed at supporting
young children and their families, have won public and Congressional support because
many Americans are convinced that we are relying too much on remediation, and too
little on prevention. New research on early brain development offers dramatic evidence
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010
that young children are biologically primed for learning. If we want all of our children to
reach their full potentials, it makes good sense to begin at the beginning.
on
That means harnessing all of the knowledge and research available to us about
how young children develop and learn. The President is committed to meeting this
challenge for a very important reason: children are our future. That is why he is taking
are beingtaken
steps to focus attention on the importance of the first years of life. Ensuring that their
cap/n
families and communities have the information and resources they need to give them
the best possible start in life is simply the right thing to do. It is also clearly in the
national interest. What could be more crucial to the nation's continued vitality than our
children' well being? Helping our youngest children grow into able learners and
productive adults must always be part of the public's business.
Today, decision makers in many arenas are beginning at some political risk
to
address issues that have often been dismissed as the domain of women. Thanks in
part to a new awareness of how children's brains develop, policy makers are turning
Federa 0 government
their attention for stretches of time from the floors of the House and Senate to the
floors of living rooms and child care centers all over America where babies and toddlers
play and babble and learn.
The connections created over time between these children and the adults who
care for them affect the connections that form in young brains. Government has the
responsibility to bring this knowledge to public attention, but government cannot and
should not tell families how to rear their children. And in any case, there is no single
"right" approach. There are many ways to raise happy, healthy, capable children. The
White House Conference provided a forum, for sharing information that can guide
parents in this role: While it emphasized parents responsibilities, It reassured mothers
and fathers that there are support systems available to help them in this challenging
and rewarding part of life.
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4
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011
Doet
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING:
le
TEN KEYLESSONS
Across the nation, nearly 14 four million babies are born each year. Each enters the
4
A
world with immense promise. Each arrives with billions of brain cells just waiting to
have their power unlocked. Many of these cells have already begun 100 to link up to one
,00
another, but a newborn's brain has yet to form the roughly one hundred trillion precise
X
connections that make up an adult's complex neural networks. For these connections
to form and proliferate, cells need a crucial ingredient: experience in the world. From
the very first days of life, brain cells connect at an astonishing pace. Young brains
3
forge more than enough connections in the first three years of life; as children move
toward adulthood, these connections are pruned and fine-tuned. This is good news for
US humans. It means that our newborns' capacities-their unique ways of thinking,
knowing, and acting-develop in the world, under the sway of the adults who love them
and nurture them.
The impact of early experience on early brain development is powerful and
specific, and may last a lifetime. This is a major finding of recent brain research, and it
represents a sharp departure from centuries-old ideas about how children develop and
grow. Its implications can be summarized in ten ID key lessons that emerged at the White e/10/0
House Conference.
1. NEW BRAIN RESEARCH UNDERSCORES THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION AND
r
THE POWER OF EFFORT
Only in recent decades have scientists fully appreciated the significance of early
experience. For most of our history, it was assumed that newborns' brains were largely
pre-programmed, and that development consisted in the gradual unfolding of innate
abilities and tendencies. Today we base educational policy on the oft-repeated premise
that virtually every child can learn to high standards. This hardly sounds like a
revolutionary stance, but in the history of education, it is a novel and bold concept. For
generations, it was widely believed that based on inborn traits, some children could be
expected to become able learners and productive workers, while others were destined
to dimmer futures. Experience and education were considered helpful, but could hardly
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012
be expected to overcome nature's pre-set J limits Some Americans continue to hold
5
onto this conviction.
New scientific evidence turns this assumption on its head. Heredity certainly
plays a role, and geneticists are learning more each day about how genes affect
development. But as each child grows and matures, early experience exerts a powerful
force, sculpting the genetic "clay."
Today, most experts agree that early development is a complex dance between
nature and nurture. Some researchers are producing new evidence that in the early
years, nurture leads that dance; one recent study suggests that in infancy and
childhood, the impact of experience on cognitive ability is significantly more powerful
than the influence of heredity.¹ The relative importance of experience appears to
decrease as individuals move throught the life cycle. This finding is sure to be debated
in coming years; but whatever the ultimate conclusion, scientists now underscore the
importance of early experience, the power of effort, and the hope of education.
2. EARLY EXPERIENCE AFFECTS How BRAINS ARE "WIRED"
le
It is natural to think of babies as ourselves in miniature-adults on a smaller
scale. But the more we discover about young brains, the clearer it becomes that young
children differ from adults in important ways. They have unique ways of developing,
learning, and responding to the world around them. By taking these differences into
account, parents and professionals can do a better job of meeting young children's
needs.
At birth, children's brains are in a surprisingly unfinished state. Newborns have
all of the genetic coding required to guide their brain development. What's more, they
have nearly all of the billions of brain cells, or neurons, they will need for a lifetime of
thinking, communicating, and learning. But these neurons are not yet linked up into the
networks needed for complex functioning. It is like having billions of telephones
installed around the nation, but not yet completely connected to each other.
[SIDEBAR: PHONING HOME]
3A
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The extreme immaturity of the newborn's brain is uniquely human. We tend to
take it for granted, but not every species gives birth to such undeveloped infants. At
birth, the human brain is only a quarter of its adult weight; the newborn brains of other
primates are already 40 or 50 percent of their adult weight. The young of other species
are rarely as helpless as newborn humans, and don't take as long to move toward
independence.
This may sound worrisome, but in fact, our initial immaturity gives humans a
powerful evolutionary edge. Monkeys, mice, and minnows are limited in the kinds of
settings in which they can survive. Humans have found ways to adapt to almost any
habitat on earth. Why? In large part, because so much of our brain development takes
place in the world-in contact with our environment. That crucial fact means that
experience plays a far greater role in the wiring of our brains. Our developing nervous
systems can be significantly altered and fine-tuned by experience. This makes humans
uniquely flexible and adaptable. It also allows us to have far greater individuality than
other species.² Different people's brains-even those of identical twins-will be wired
differently, based on their responses to different activities and stimuli.
lc
3. THE YOUNG BRAIN IS A WORK IN PROGRESS
A young child's brain is a work in progress, and scientists are now able to watch
it unfold. Thanks to new, computer-based imaging technologies, such as ultrasound,
MRI, and PET scans, they can now see the brain's structures in greater detail than ever
before. They can get a glimpse of how the brain responds to different experiences and
how it uses energy. They can see how the brain looks and functions at different stages
of development, including in the months before birth.
Crucial steps in brain development take place early in pregnancy, before many
women know that they are expecting. Within weeks of conception, cells that are
destined to become neurons have to find their way to the correct position in the part of
the brain most responsible for reasoning and learning. For brain development to
proceed normally, each cell has to makes its journey at the right time, in the right order.
Nature has powerful mechanisms to guide the process, including genetic coding, and
expectant parents can rest assured that in the vast majority of cases, development
proceeds just as it should. But even in the womb, the brain is vulnerable to
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5
014
environmental influences. When pregnant women have inadequate nourishment, when
they smoke, drink, or take drugs, or are exposed to toxic substances, their babies' brain
development may be jeopardized. Research also suggests that when women suffer
abuse, extreme stress, or severe depression, their babies may be affected.
Newborns have more awareness of the world than most of us realize. On the first
day of life, a newborn can look at his surroundings, study objects, and gaze in the eyes
of his mother or father. Infants as young as two days of age will sometimes suck at the
mere sight of a breast or bottle, suggesting that learning takes place from a child's
earliest hours of life.³ But the process of getting to know the world is just beginning. At
birth, a newborn cannot yet make sense of the flood of sensation and information that
comes his way.
As new experiences arrive, young children's brains respond by forming and
reinforcing trillions of connections, or synapses, among neurons. In the time that it
takes for mom to nurse the baby or for grandpa to read Goodnight Moon thousands of
(-)
new synapses are produced. At the same time, thousands of existing synapses are
used or "fired" and, in the process, reinforced.
Connections form so quickly that by the time children are three, their brains have
twice as many synapses as they will need as adults. These trillions of synapses are
competing for space in a brain that is still far from its adult size. According to Rethinking
the Brain, a report by the Families and Work Institute/released at the White House
Conference, by the age of three a young child's brain is apt to be more than twice as
active as that of her pediatrician. Children are biologically primed for learning, and
3
sw
the first three years are particularly crucial.
If children have more synapses than they will have as adults, what happens to
the trillions of excess connections? The answer is: they are shed as children grow.
Scientists report that throughout the development process, the brain is producing new
synapses, strengthening existing ones, and getting rid of synapses that aren't used
3
3
often enough. Before the age of three, synapse production is by far the dominant
10
process; from three to ten, the processes are relatively balanced, so the number of
10
synapses stays about the same. But as children near adolescence, the balance shifts,
and the shedding of excess neurons moves into high gear.
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1
015
Brains downsize for the same reason so many other "organizations" do: with
streamlined networks, they can function more efficiently. But how does the brain
"decide" which connections to shed and which to keep? Here again, early experience
plays a decisive role. Each time synapses fire, beginning with the early months and
years of life, they get sturdier and more resilient. Those that are used often enough
tend to survive; those that are not used often enough are history. In this way, a child's
experiences in the first years of life affect her brain's permanent circuitry.
lc
4. EVERY CHILD Is UNIQUE
Because experience in the world so powerfully affects early development, no two
brains grow and mature in the same way. Children are individuals right from the start,
even if they are raised in the same culture, locality, or even household. Even the brains
of identical twins develop differently, based on their early surroundings and interactions
with the adults who care for them.
As anyone who has ever raised a child can attest, no parent can completely plan
or predict how a son or daughter will grow and develop. The settings and experiences
that parents provide are crucial, but many other factors are also at work, and parents
cannot regulate (or take responsibility for) every aspect of their children's development.
Newborns arrive with different temperaments, strengths, and needs. Many children are
born with abilities or disabilities that present them and their families with special
challenges. Some boys and girls encounter difficulty despite their families' love and
commitment; others show remarkable resilience, growing into hearty children and able
learners despite circumstances that overwhelm aRe other young people. While the
researchers at the White House Conference were eager to explain the importance of
early experience, none would argue for replacing the notion of genetic "programming"
with experiential "programming." The new brain research answers many questions
about how children grow and develop, but it does not diminish the reality that every life
is unique and complex.
5. CHILDREN LEARN IN THE CONTEXT OF IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS
le
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016
In the first years of life, parents have considerable (though not complete) control
over the kinds of experiences their children are exposed to. But what kind of
experiences do infants and toddlers need? Researchers are finding that, more than
anything else, young children need secure attachments to the adults who care for them.
Newborns discover very quickly that they are not alone. From birth, they are
capable of observing and interacting with other people. Babies grasp that the world
we've brought them into is a fascinating place. When they are awake and alert, they
lose no time exploring their surroundings with all of their senses. But nothing is more
interesting or important to them than their mothers and fathers. Very early in life, babies
turn most eagerly toward the voices of the people they know best.
Human bhildren are dependent to a greater extent and for a longer stretch of
cap
time than the young of other species. They are also trusting. They turn to parents and
other caregivers for reassurance or help. They believe that these adults will nurture
and protect them, unless repeated experience teaches them otherwise.
They know that interacting with parents and other important people
communicating, mimicking, playing, snuggling-is the best way to spend and their most
alert, wakeful hours. Babies respond to touch, sound, images, tastes smells. They are
at ease when they receive warm, responsive care geared to their needs, moods, and
temperament. When this kind of care comes consistently from the same adult or adults,
young children form secure attachments. They sense that they are loved and protected
even during quiet or sleepy times, and while at play by themselves.
When children form secure attachments, their development tends to flourish.
Long-term studies show that children who have secure attachments early in life make
better social adjustments as they grow up, and do better in school.⁵ But when care is
inadequate, mechanical, or inconsistent, young children experience tension, and
research shows that this stress affects their heart rate, brain waves, and their brains'
biochemistry. A major finding of recent research is that chronic stress can have an
adverse impact on the brain, and can result in develomental delays.6 This finding is
borne out by studies of young children who are subjected to extreme social and
emotional deprivation over extended periods such as those raised in sub standard
orphanages.
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017
Some parents are understandably unsettled by research showing that the way
they relate to their young sons and daughters, and the experiences they provide or
arrange, help to determine how their children's MARY brains will be wired. They may wonder:
Did I pay enough attention to Jake and Daniel when they were babies? How many
connections formed, or failed to form, during the ten minutes Emily was left to cry so
10
Robert's bee sting could be tended to? What about all the times the neighbor lost his
temper and shouted at Rebecca? Has musical potential been wiped from Melissa's
brain because we never played Mozart or Bach?
But when you look at life from a baby's viewpoint, you realize that you don't have
to be a perfect parent. What matters to young children is your ability to understand
their needs and to read their signals most of the time; to respond with warmth and
affection, to model the pleasures of conversation and turn-taking, to protect them from
life's minor bumps and bruises as often as possible, and to shield them from neglect
and abuse.
Social experience has a greater impact on brain development-including
children's emerging intellectual capacities-than many scientists had realized. As
obvious as this is to many mothers and fathers, a survey conducted by Zero to Three
9
(and released at the White House Conference) showed that fully a quarter of parents
do not believe this. The research is clear, however. Children learn in the context of
important relationships: interactions with parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters,
and other family members.
Fathers have a critical role to play. Addressing the Conference, Vice President
Gore noted research showing that the attachment a child forms with his or her father is
cap/a
critical to that child's development. When fathers are active caregivers, their children
tend to do better on cognitive tests and are less prone to violence. Of course, these
results hinge on the quality of the relationship a father establishes with his young
children, as well as the amount of time he devotes to caring for them.
1980s
Traditional roles are changing slowly in most families. Research in the early
eighties reported that fathers, on the average, spent less than half an hour per day
directly interacting with their children. More recent studies are showing that many men
have somewhat increased the time they spend interacting with their children and taking
care of them. But many fathers say that they meet obstacles when they try to become
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018
more involved. Some say that they would spend more time with their sons and
daughters if they met less resistance from the children's mothers, or if their employers
adopted more family-friendly policies.
Mothers and fathers have a strong stake in the well-being of the children they
bring into the world, but biology is not the chief factor in good parenthood. We know
that adoptive parents can have a large, sustained impact on children's development.
So can foster parents and grandparents. So can child care providers who are steady
presences in children's lives. And so can family, friends and neighbors. Again, while
opportunities are especially strong in the early years, important relationships make a
difference for children at any age.
6. OTHER CAREGIVERS CAN MEET YOUNG CHILDREN'S NEEDS-BUT DON'T TAKE
lc
THE PLACE OF МФМ OR DAD.
cop3
Research shows that children are capable of forming strong attachments to more
than one adult, but not all attachments are equally strong or compelling. Babies tend to
prefer their primary caregiver-usually mom. But they quickly learn that other people
can meet their needs, and that different people-dad, OF Uncle Mike, grandma, or
Ms. Cutler-have different ways of caring for them. In this way, they begin to get a
sense of life's complexity and richness.
Child care providers can be important people in young children's lives, but they
do not take the place of parents. Recent studies show that high quality child care does
not disrupt young children's attachments to their parents-so long as parents spend
enough time with their infants and toddlers to know them well, care for them confidently,
and read their signals and cues. [SIDEBAR: CHILD CARE AND THE FAMILY.]
In fact, child care providers-with sufficient training and support-can enhance
the development of the children in their care, supplementing the parents' input.
Children benefit when parents and child care providers work together, exchanging
information, insights, and problem solving strategies on a regular basis.
B)
B
7. "SMALL TALK" HAS BIG CONSEQUENCES
ec/aps
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Many aspects of children's environments affect early brain development, from
the sights to sounds to textures that surround them. But recently scientists have been
homing in on linguistic experience as a key ingredient. More precisely, they are
stressing the importance of "small talk"-the millions of ordinary greetings,
exclamations, explanations, complaints, and utterances exchanged between adults and
children in the course of the early years.
Over the last quarter century, scientists have learned a great deal about how
children acquire language. Parents have long suspected that babies' babbling is basic
training for speech, and that their gestures and cries eventually evolve into more
sophisticated forms of communication. But new research shows that infants make
more rapid progress in cracking the language code than we previously thought. From
their early months, they pay close attention to the language they hear.⁸ By the time
they reach their first birthdays, they are well on their way to mapping the sound
structure of language-or, in multilingual homes, to the language they hear most -
consistently. [SIDEBAR: CITIZENS OF THE WORLD]
3B
Adults have special ways of talking to children that help them analyze language.
Intuitively, they speak more rhythmically, slowing down their speech, exaggerating
phonetic shifts, and simplifying their vocabulary and grammar. Speakers of "parentese"
often set their words to enticing melodies that act as 80 acoustic hooks, pulling the
0
baby's attention to them. This kind of talk lets babies know that they are being
addressed; punctuated by pauses, it helps young children learn that relating to others is
about taking turns. Many kinds of early interactions-even a game of peekaboo or
mimicry of a baby's faces-can lay the groundwork for effective communication later in
life.
But some parents do not realize the importance of talking to their children in the
first year before their children are old enough to begin talking back. They may feel self-
conscious when they talk to an infant who cannot respond; or they may have few
positive models of conversation between parents and young children. In other cases,
parents may be too tired or stressed to engage in lighthearted chitchat with their babies.
It is easy to empathize with these mothers and fathers, but research suggests that their
children may be missing out on important learning opportunities.
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How can researchers gauge the impact of early interchanges? A common-sense
approach is to observe numerous infants, record their interactions with their parents or
caregivers, and then follow each child's progress over several years to see how he or
she develops and fares in school. One recent study found that a child's earliest
language experiences does indeed affect later achievement. For a period of two-and-a-
half years, beginning with birth, the researchers spent an hour each month
documenting every spoken word and every parent-child interaction in each of 42
homes. They found that the more parents talked to and interacted with their babies, the
greater the children's chances for success when they reached elementary school. They
concluded that both the number of words exchanged and the tone in which they were
said made a difference. All of the children in the study learned to use language and
construct complex sentences, but the children who were talked to at a younger age had
a stronger grasp of the conceptual possibilities of language, and became better
problem solvers.⁹
Linguistic experience constitutes an important part of the setting in which young
children grow up, and can have a positive or negative effect on children's development.
Very young children who may not make sense of words nevertheless respond to tone.
Language that is soothing, a novel, or buoyant can spark their curiosity and help them
feel secure and engaged in family life. At the same time, cascades of negative
comments or commands can certainly provoke stress, even when the words are not
directed at the children, and even when infants or toddlers are too young to fathom their
meaning.
Once parents know about this kind of research, most will want to make "small
talk" with their infants more frequent, warm, and responsive, and they will want to be
sure that child care providers are talking with their babies as well. The prospect of
keeping up a steady flow of conversation may sound exhausting, but babies appear to
benefit from exactly the kinds of commentary that run through parents' and caregivers'
minds as they move through their day. In the study mentioned above, the patter that
went on between the chatty parents and their infants was not about Buddhism or
Beethoven-or, for that matter, brain science. You need not discuss complex ideas to
help your infant learn. But a stream of statements like, "Your cereal is almost ready," or
"Daddy is looking for his keys," appears to help babies become more conceptual
thinkers later in life. Simple questions like, "How was your nap?" or "What did we do
today?" can make a world of difference.
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I
8. CHILDREN NEED MANY KINDS OF STIMULATION
Children need chances to stretch not only their linguistic and conceptual abilities,
but also their powers of perception, social prowess, and aesthetic and moral capacities.
And of course, all children need physical exercise. When children are severely
deprived of experience in any of these areas, their development may be delayed. For
example, babies and toddlers who spend most of their waking hours in their cribs
develop more slowly than other young children; some cannot sit up at 21 months, and
most cannot walk by age three. 10 Children need opportunities for vigorous, safe
physical activity. They need touch, sounds, and images. They need social and
emotional contact. And they need thought-provoking activities. Most adults who care
for children have some awareness of these needs. But despite parents' best intentions,
many infants and toddlers do not get enough intellectual stimulation. This was a major
finding of Starting Points, a Carnegie Corporation report on meeting the needs of young
children that was cited at the White House Conference. 11 Starting Points reported that
only half of infants and toddlers are routinely read to by their parents.
On the other hand, too much stimulation can be overwhelming. Young children
have different temperaments and moods. They also have different daily cycles of
wakefulness and sleepiness than adults. Their capacity to respond to different kinds
and amounts of stimulation can fluctuate from hour to hour, or even from minute to
minute. Aside from seeing to their children's basic health and safety, the most important
thing parents can do is to learn to read their children's moods and preferences and,
whenever possible, adjust activities, schedules, and even the way they touch and talk
to their young children.
With practice, many mothers and fathers become quite adept at reading their
children's cues and signals and anticipating their needs. But like so many aspects of
parenting, this is easier said than done. Children can be volatile and unpredictable.
From birth, children appear to have different temperamental characteristics. Research
suggests that most infants and toddlers have traits that make them "easy" children; but
a significant number-about ten percent-have difficult temperaments. They tend to be
moody, express intense emotion, and resist efforts to comfort them or cheer them up. 12
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Furthermore, some children are born with, or develop, disabilities or illnesses
that may impede their ability to form strong relationships and to respond to different
kinds of stimulation-3evere retardation, autism, or mental illness, for example. Others
=
may have learning disabilities that do not fully respond to current treatment methods.
Research points to new ways to help every child reach his or her full capacities.
Working with professionals, parents can acquire the information and strategies they
need to support their sons and daughters as they gain new skills and new confidence.
New ways of approaching disabilities like mental retardation or autism are helping to
improve conditions that were once considered untreatable. But some children will
continue to have difficulties no matter how much love, care, attention, and stimulation
their mothers and fathers provide.
lc/cap
9. PREVENTION IS CRUCIAL
The brain does not develop all at once. Different parts of this complicated organ
mature at different times and at different rates. Although development continues
throughout life, there are periods of great opportunity (and risk) when a particular part of
the brain is the site of intensive wiring and is therefore especially flexible. These are
known as critical periods.
The classic example is vision. The visual part of the brain is wired early in life,
but this, doesn't happen automatically. The necessary connections do not form until the
brain receives the specific stimulation it needs, in the form of visual experience. Timing
is crucial. If the brain does not receive this stimulation on time-before the critical
period for vision has passed-the required connections will never form, and the part of
the brain that controls vision will not fully develop. That is why time is of the essence
when cataracts cloud or block a baby's vision. Surgery must be performed in a timely
way, or the baby may lose her sight permanently. But if this baby's grandfather
develops cataracts, the situation is very different. Because grandpa long ago received
the visual stimulation his brain needed for normal development, cataract surgery can
restore his sight even after a long delay.
The concept of "critical periods" helps to explain why the early years are so
important, and why it can be hard for parents and teachers to compensate for
experiences that were missed in the first years of life. During these years, responsive
care and appropriate stimulation can produce the rapid intellectual, social, and
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023
emotional growth that does not usually come as easily to older children. In most cases,
there is plenty of time for children to get the stimulation they need. Critical periods
generally are not as narrow for cognitive and social growth as they are for vision. The
critical period for language development, for example, can stretch for more than a
decade.
At the same time, the early years are also filled with risk. Untreated health
problems, poor nutrition, exposure to tobacco, alcohol, drugs, or environmental toxins,
and abuse and neglect are always risky, but may be especially perilous in the first years
of life. Traumatic experiences and non stop stress are also particularly harmful early in
life; they affect production of a steroid hormone called cortisol that can have an adverse
impact on brain development. Maternal depression is another factor that can affect
early development. Many new mothers experience post-partum blues for a few weeks
or months; this is normal and unlikely to have a lasting impact on her baby. But
research shows that if a mother's depression persists, a young child's brain activity_may
be affected. The good news is that when the depression lifts or is treated, the child's
development can usually get right back on track.
The bottom line is that in the early years of life, prevention and early intervention
are crucial. When health problems are addressed, when family stress is reduced, when
mothers seek treatment for depression, young children tend to fare better. The earlier
the intervention, the better. The more follow-up, the better. These are simple lessons.
As they are applied more widely, results for young children are bound to improve.
10. THE CRADLE WILL ROCK
Unconditional love goes to the heart of what it means to be a parent. But love is
not enough. From a child's viewpoint, good care is responsive care. It requires getting
to know a particular child very well, and that is not simply a matter of instinct or
affection; it usually takes time and practice and help from more experienced
caregivers. Parents and caregivers don't always get it right the first time, or even the
second, but if they are willing to follow the children and learn from their mistakes, they
come to understand their needs and temperaments.
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024
italic
Mistakes are inevitable. As the lullaby promises, the cradle will rock. A baby who
is full will be coaxed to eat. A toddler will be tossed into the air by an enthusiastic dad
when what he really needs is a cuddle and a nap. And parents will frequently realize,
after the fact, that they could have found a better way to handle a problem. No parent
gets it right every time. Even experts on child development sometimes make mistakes
with their own children.
Of course, some mistakes cannot be tolerated. There is never an excuse for
abuse or neglect, or for household dangers that imperil children's lives. But young
children will inevitably miss a meal, scrape their knees, or overhear their parents argue.
They can easily survive the ordinary ups and downs of daily life, as long as the care
they receive day by day is usually warm, responsive and consistent. In fact, these ups
5)
and downs are among the experiences that help their brains to mature. What's more,
when children have a secure attachment to the adults who care for they, they are
forgiving. When a parent disappoints them, they usually offer another chance.
on No Supporting endnotes
pages on 18
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025
A
le
III. WE KNOW WHAT WORKS
Researchers and policy (m) makers still have a great deal to learn about how
C)
children grow and learn, but we know enough now to begin to promote their healthy
early development. Research and practice in many fields-including not only brain
science but also medicine, psychology, education, cognitive science, and organizational
development-have produced a vast body of knowledge, leading to better, more
informed approaches to helping young children and their families. This knowledge rests
on thousands of studies and evaluations of hundreds of programs-far too many to
summarize in a single report. But we can distill from them fundamental lessons about
effective strategies.
PREVENTIVE, FAMILY-ORIENTED HEALTH CARE
lecaps lc
We Americans take pride in having created a truly advanced society. In the-
realm of science and technology, we have few rivals. People from around the globe
seek information and treatment from our health professionals. Given our resources and
this Para, correct?
the value we place on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we should have a very
low rate of infant mortality Note from RS: couldn't read the marginal comment.
?
Please check this correction.] And we do-but only in our more affluent
formation
communities. When the nation is considered as a whole, we lag behind more than a
dozen other countries in ensuring infant survival. Among African, American women,
infant mortality is twice as high as it is for white women. The United States also ranks
below many other countries in immunization rates and health coverage for pregnant
women and children. Compared to other industrialized countries, we have a high
proportion of low-birthweight babies.
We can do better-if we take a preventive approach to health care and make
adequate prenatal care available to more expectant mothers. The facts are clear: good
prenatal care dramatically boosts women's chances of giving birth to healthy babies. It
is also a sound investment. Prenatal care reduces the number of low-birthweight
infants, saving the health care system up to $30,000 each time.¹³
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No Foot notes on this Page
Prenatal care also leads to better nutrition for expectant mothers and infants, a
key factor in children's healthy development. The government provides critical
nutritional support by means of the WIC program, which provides nutrition to pregnant
spellat
women and infants, and food stamps for low-income families. But expectant parents
need information and guidance about the kinds of foods and food supplements that
engender good health. Ideally, prospective parents should receive information and
support even before they conceive a child. This is sometimes called "preconception
care" and it can boost the health of mothers and babies, as well as fathers' knowledge
and confidence.
Correct,>
Prenatal care is unquestionably important in the early months of pregnancy. And
yet, many women still do not get adequate prenatal care. About one in five expectant
mothers in our country receives no care during the crucial first trimester. For Black,
Hispanic, and American Indian women, the figure is one in three Some lack health care
coverage that would pay for early visits. Others don't know where to go, or how to get
there, or why a doctor would want to see them when they are not even "showing."
Efforts are needed to ensure that the public is better informed, that prenatal care is
accessible and affordable, and that care is not delayed while eligibility is established.
Aggressive outreach could encourage more prospective parents to seek early care.
And preconception and prenatal care should encompass not only health care and risk
assessments, but also solid information and services such as screening and treatment
for depression, smoking cessation, and alcohol abuse. While maternal health is the
main focus of prenatal care, children benefit when fathers are brought into the process
from the outset.
Prenatal care is a good start-but only a start-for a lifetime of good health.
Infants and toddlers need regular well-child care, the full set of recommended
immunizations, and swift attention when they show signs of illness or developmental
¿oprnevel
delays. That is why health coverage is so important. [Update this section -- add
accomplishments. Health care is especially important for the nearly three million
infants and toddlers living in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, since
these children are at significantly higher risk for infant mortality, low birthweight,
physical or mental disabilities, fatal accidents, and common health problems such as
asthma, frequent diarrhea, pneumonia, or dental problems.
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027
Once parents have access to health care for their children, it must be family-
centered. Many parents want more information, reassurance, and resources during
well-baby visits than traditional pediatric practices can provide. When health care
providers (and insurers) restructure their policies and practices to provide services that
meet parents' needs and emphasize prevention, children benefit.
FAMILY SUPPORT AND PARENT EDUCATION
lc/caps
=
Writing about the importance of parent education, an American physician
asserted that parents too often undertake their new roles "without previous instruction,
or without forethought; they undertake it as though it could be learned either by
intuition, by instinct, or by affection. The consequence is, that frequently they are in a
sea of trouble and uncertainty, tossing about without experience or compass."14
This statement was written nearly a century ago by one of our nation's first
women physicians. Despite having advanced light years in medical and scientific
knowledge, the need for family support and parent education remains as strong as
ever-perhaps stronger, since today Americans are far more mobile and less reliant on
extended family living in their households or around the block.
Raising children is challenging for all parents; it is certainly stressful for the
nation's large number of very young parents. Even though the teen pregnancy rate has
declined recently (by 5 percent since 1993) the problem remains serious and inspired
A
President Clinton to establisl the National Strategy to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Each
A
year, teenage mothers give birth to nearly half a million babies. Most are not married:
in the 1990's S, more than a quarter of all American children are born to unmarried
2
mothers.
Today, 3.3 million children live with adolescent mothers. These young mothers
have a particular need for parent education and support. They are much less likely
than other mothers to take advantage of prenatal, care, and those who are 16 or
younger are more likely to have low-birthweight children-with all of the health and
developmental problems associated with that condition. In general, children born to
teenage parents, especially those living with their mothers alone, appear to be more
likely than other children to have continuing health problems.¹⁵
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But all parents can benefit from family support and parent education. Most say
they have a pretty good idea of what to look for in terms of their babies' physical
development, but need more help recognizing social and emotional milestones. They
are perplexed by recent findings about the importance of the early years. They know
they need to stimulate their children, but how and how much? And how can they be
sure that the other adults who care for their children will give them what they need?
Parents want to do a good job. But many go to bed at night convinced that they
haven't spent enough quality time with their children. More than half of today's parents
believe they are not doing as good a job at childrearing as their own parents did. 16 The
survey conducted by Zero to Three confirms that few first-time parents feel fully
prepared for their new role. The youngest and least financially secure feel particularly
9
unprepared. They also want more information including the findings about early brain
^
development that were presented at the White House Conference. The Zero to Three
survey found that 60 percent of parents are "extremely" or "very" interested in this
subject, and another 21 are "fairly" interested.
But surveys are not the only indications that people who have responsibility for
young children want help. Existing family support and parent education services are at
full capacity, books and magazines on child care are widely read. Corporations and
community organizations that have set up 800 telephone help lines for parents have
been flooded with calls.
And on Mine parent resources are expanding. Pediatricians say they are frustrated that
they have so little time to respond to the long lists of questions and concerns that
parents raise, and some are restructuring their practices to meet this need.
Family support and parent education programs are often aimed at new mothers,
but can also help fathers adapt successfully to their new roles. We know that many
fathers are having difficulty finding a place for themselves in the family setting, and that
divorce rates are rising. By focusing on fathers' needs and roles, family support and
parent education programs can help to support men who are struggling to adjust to new
roles and responsibilities. The best programs address not only childrearing issues, but
the challenges fathers and mothers meet as they raise their families, such as getting
and keeping jobs, resolving conflict, and managing their time.
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029
A number of well established family support programs have been subjected to
rigorous evaluation. For example, an evaluation of Avance, a family support program
featured at the Conference that has served low-income, predominantly Hispanic
families over more than two decades, has demonstrated clear, long-lasting benefits for
tootnote)
participants and their children. in general, research evidence on comprehensive family
support programs is promising but not conclusive. Comprehensive, multifaceted
programs are difficult to evaluate because they encompass so many activities, and
tailor services to the needs of different families. Different programs serve children of
different ages and target different kinds of families, so it is hard to make comparisons of
their impact or cost-effectiveness.
We do know, however, that programs emphasizing home visitation can produce
impressive results, particularly when they begin with prenatal care and include follow-up
into the elementary school years. Programs that include regular home visits appear to
be particularly effective in meeting new parents' informational needs and allaying their
anxieties [SEE SIDEBAR THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.] New parents have a
?
lot to learn. Twenty-five years ago, when hospital stays for new mothers tended to be
longer, there was more time for advice and instruction. Nursing an infant is certainly a
natural process, but the know-how to begin successfully does not come naturally. The
same is true for diapering or bathing a newborn, dealing with cradle cap, or
establishing daily (and nightly) routines. Even a minimum hospital stay of 48 hours
which the President fought for and won- is not always enough time for parents to
adjust to their new responsibilities before they bring their newborns home. Follow-up is
helpful, but today, only a small minority of families receives follow-up visits by nurses.
As the months pass, most parents gain confidence and competence, but they can still
benefit from advice about how to keep track of a baby's development, recognize and
deal with illnesses and emergencies, baby-proof their homes, choose toys for their
children, and play and chat with children at different ages. Some home visitors make
videotapes which help parents learn what to look for as they watch their children grow,
and spur important discussions about children's development in the context of family
dynamics.
HIGH QUALITY CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION
leaps
Today, more than half of all mothers go back to work before their babies' first birthdays.
Many choose to continue their careers while raising a family; others prefer to stay
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030
home, but cannot afford to financially. Fifty-five percent of working women contribute
half or more of family income.¹⁷ Other mothers must work or attend training to meet
new welfare requirements.
As a result, the great majority of infants and toddlers are in 2) 1-maternal care for P
some stretch of time. This is a potential opportunity. Studies that have followed
children's progress over decades, such as the Perry/High Scope Preschool Study, have
shown that high quality early care and education programs produce long-term benefits,
especially for children from low-income families. Programs with well trained staffs and
strong curricula (geared to children's needs at each stage of development) have been
shown to promote cognitive, social, and emotional development in young children.
Children who attend such programs fare better in elementary school, especially if they
receive ongoing support as they move through the grades. They are less likely to be
held back and less likely to be referred for special education. 18
The trouble is that high-quality, affordable child care is hard to come by.
Researchers who have observed and rated child care programs (including both child
care centers and family day care settings) say that many are poor to barely adequate.
They may have unqualified or poorly trained staff; too many children for each staff
member; inadequate facilities; or other shortcomings. Programs for infants and toddlers
appear to be the worst of all. 19 Moreover, child care schedules often do not mesh with
parents' work schedules. Many parents resort to makeshift arrangements; their
children may be in several locations or programs during a single day.
Given the realities of today's families, the need for affordable, high-quality child
care has been hoisted high on the national agenda as an issue that affects not only
children's healthy development, but also parents' ability to work outside the home with
the concentration and peace of mind needed to succeed in today's workplaces. Many
businesses are beginning to realize that providing child care to their workers makes
good business sense, enabling the employees to work to the best of their abilities.
Researchers and practitioners are shaping many proposals to define and
improve quality in early care and education, addressing ways to upgrade the training,
qualifications, and working conditions of child care providers; mechanisms for assuring
safe environments for young children; and the content of early childhood curricula.
Some take a broad view, arguing that changes must be made not only in programs, but
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031
also in the policies, financing strategies, and accreditation practices that underlie the
nation's child care services. 20 There efforts provide a broad framework for improving
child care so that children can thrive and parents can work and learn with peace of
delepues
mind.
Today, child care is at a crossroads. Ideas abound for improving services, but
states and localities need the time and resources to plan and coordinate reform efforts.
Otherwise, efforts to improve child care may lead to further fragmentation. To ensure
safe and healthy care for children of all ages, President Clinton signed into law, as part
of welfare reform legislation, the Child Care and Development Block Grant
Amendments of 1996, Under allows this legislation states and communities can apply for
needs
multi year federal funding that they can use to plan more cohesive child care services
Southole
that respond to the needs of all of their families.
As President Clinton has often said, there isn't a problem that isn't being solved
somewhere in this country. We can base tomorrow's early care and education
programs on the experience of today's successful programs. Much can be learned from
the experience of the military, which has instituted excellent child care programs by
requiring substantial basic training for caregivers, offering them a career ladder, and
providing sufficient wages and benefits to reduce staff turnover. [SIDEBAR: ON THE
LAND, IN THE AIR, ON THE SEA AND IN THE SANDBOX.]
A COMPREHENSIVE PROACH
le/eaps
Finally, to meet the many needs of our youngest children, we need a
comprehensive approach. This is the toughest challenge of all. It is difficult, in part,
because Americans tend to resist "systems." When it comes to young children,
however, we pay systematically when we do not provide coherent, well coordinated
services. When services are fragmented, too many children, and too much promise, fall
through the cracks.
If all of the core institutions discussed in the following chapter were to work
together, and take concrete steps to coordinate their approaches, our communities
could begin to move toward better results for children. But this effort challenges many
people and many institutions to examine their policies and practices, and to make
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032
changes. It means reordering priorities. This is not easy, nor can it be quickly
accomplished. It will take sustained attention and work.
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A
IV. BUILDING ON SUCCESS
le
The accomplishments of recent years can be a basis for sustained progress.
[Add more about accomplishments here?] No endeavor promises more long-term
benefits for our nation than giving children a better start in life. But for this effort is to
succeed, every sector of our society must be involved.
lc/car
3
PARENTS AND FAMILIES
Parents can support their children's healthy development by doing what parents
do best-loving their children, spending time with them, chatting with them, protecting
their health and safety, and creating the predictable routines and consistent limits that
help children feel secure. They can stimulate their children's intellectual growth by
reading to them and engaging them in age-appropriate activities that will tap their
creativity and spark their curiosity.
Generations of parents need no convincing that raising children is taxing, both
physically and emotionally. It requires not only stamina, but also skill; not only nerve,
but knowledge. Mothers and fathers can enhance their children's development by
becoming better informed about parenthood, beginning even before their children are
conceived. Today, countless parent education programs, publications, radio talk
shows, TV specials, videos, and web sites are available in communities across the
cap
nation. Family support organizations, child care centers, libraries, hospital and health
clinics, human service agencies, and schools and universities are among the
deletipaced
institutions that make these resources available to their communities.
Parents' # familiarity with all of these institutions benefits children. Being involved
Space,
in the community not only increases parents' knowledge and contacts; it interrupts the
isolation so many mothers and fathers feel. And as young children grow, their parents'
ability to access services and programs on their behalf becomes very important.
As parents reach out for information and support, two kinds of learning are
particularly important. The first is learning to observe children closely, to notice their
rhythms and preferences and to read and respond to the signals they send through
body language, crying and other sounds, facial expressions, and responses to stimuli.
a
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034
The second kind of knowledge challenges parents to know not only their babies,
but also themselves: Child development specialists often speak of the "ghosts in the
nursery"-the experiences in mothers' and fathers' pasts that affect their own parenting,
consciously or not.²¹ By thinking and talking together about their own upbringing,
parents and other caregivers can gain insight into their own responses to their children.
Why does the sound of crying drive Yvonne so crazy? Why does Kyle lose his temper
so quickly when the children squabble? Thinking about their own responses can make
parents more patient and decisive as they react to their own children.
LOCAL OMMUNITIES
lc/cup
At satellite downlink sites around the nation, local residents who gathered to
view and discuss the White House Conference responded to speakers viewpoints,
related research findings to the concerns of their own communities, and conveyed their
Local communities
reactions to the White House. Somelemphasize the need for better preparation for
child care providers. Others called for a special focus on teen parents. Many
expressed a deep concern for the fate of abused and neglected children. But one
theme was sounded most emphatically: the needs of young children and their families
are so diverse and complex that no single institution can fully meet them. There is an
Sontrote
urgent need to mobilize whole communities, and to ensure greater coordination within
them.
This requires strenuous effort, and efficient, frequent communication among a
wide range of service providers. It challenges professionals who may have only
superficial knowledge of each other's roles to work together. Police officers need to talk
to mental health specialists; welfare caseworkers need to be in frequent contact with
the staffs of family support organizations; health care professionals need to link up with
child care providers. All of these professionals-and many more-need to share
information in ways that benefit children and families without violating their rights to
privacy.
When coordination is strong, fewer children fall through the cracks. Most
communities have a long way to go, because services for children and families are
spread among so many agencies and organizations. The challenges are immense in
terms of logistics, record keeping, and communication. Collaboration might include
monitoring and documenting children's health, safety, and progress toward
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035
developmental milestones, analyzing the factors that promote or hinder healthy
development and learning, and make the changes needed to improve results for all
children.
Beyond institutional coordination, people must also come together to envision a
future in which children and families will thrive and take steps to move the entire
community toward that future. In mayors' offices, town halls, houses of worship, and
parent gatherings across the nation, a promising movement to mobilize communities is
now underway. Parent groups, community leaders, policy makers, business groups,
D
and many others are working together to shape broad-based action strategies aimed at
improving life for young children and their families. As communities differ, so too do the
strategies they employ. In many places, community mobilization efforts have resulted
in the creation of Children's Councils to bring together the concerns and ideas of
community members and policy makers. In other places, leadership on behalf of
children has taken other forms-from parent groups, clergy, community organizers,- -
educational leaders, health professionals, or other sources.
However different communities are, certain goals can be pursued almost
universally. 22
Ensure that every expectant mother receives timely care.
Give every child access to the health care and support they need to get a good
start in life, physically and emotionally.
Help children build stable, trusting relationships with the adults who care for
them.
Support the adults who influence development and learning, and include both
mothers and fathers in all parent involvement efforts.
Focus on prevention, and respond quickly when problems arise.
Set high expectations for every child.
Offer varied, engaging appropriate activities that foster development, including
opportunities for conversation and turn-taking that begin in the early weeks of
life.
Make efficient, equitable use of resources, expanding successful efforts and
eliminating those that are not effective.
Collaborate with other institutions.
Take responsibility for results.
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036
lc/caps
EDUCATIONAL LEADERS
es
No challenge has a higher place on the President's domestic agenda than
^
arecalled upon
strengthening American education He has called upon Americansito ensure that every
government
1,
child can read well and independently by the third grade. The Clinton Administration
^
also is working-closely with states to put into place educational standards that set high
expectations for all students, while providing the learning opportunities and resources
our young people need to meet them.
To succeed, the nation's commitment to promoting learning and healthy
development cannot take effect only when children enter elementary school. Across
the nation, elementary school principals are hearing from their kindergarten teachers
that large numbers of children-by some estimates, one-third-are not "ready to --
learn."23 That is, they are unprepared for the academic, social, and emotional
challenges they face in their kindergarten classrooms. Many principals are addressing
this problem by shifting their focus from "ready children" to "ready schools"-rethinking
kindergarten settings and programs to make them appropriate for the children who will
fill them.
That approach is wise, but insufficient. As the education research plan issued
recently by the U.S. Department of Education noted, there is mounting evidence that
educational efforts that begin only a age five-the traditional age of entry into public
schools-are too late and have limited payoff for children's schooling. 24 School leaders
need to work more closely with the preschools and child care programs whose children
will soon be moving into their kindergartens, sharing curricula and engaging teachers
and caregivers in joint professional development activities. Educational leaders need to
become involved in community-based efforts to support young children's healthy
development and learning. To the extent possible, they need widen their focus, and
communicate with and provide support to parents from the time their future students are
born.
As things stand, few districts or elementary schools make systematic efforts to
stay in contact with their communities' early care and education programs. In a national
survey, 10 percent of schools reported systematic communication between
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037
kindergarten teachers and their kindergartners' previous caregivers or teachers; 12
percent said that their kindergarten curricula were designed to build on preschool
programs. The vast majority of our elementary schools have no formal policy governing
activities aimed at strengthening continuity and smoothing transitions. Different
communities and schools benefit from different kinds of transition activities, but
research shows that across the nation, the success of such efforts hinges on the
involvement and support of principals and district-level administrators. 25
Educational leaders can take many concrete steps at the national, state, and
local levels to support the healthy development and learning of children before the age
of five. In so doing, they can provide more continuity for children and move the nation
toward the first national education goal-school readiness for all.
lc/cap
BUSINESS LEADERS
=
Business leaders increasingly acknowledge that they share significant
responsibility for the well-being of the families with young children who count among
their customers, employees, and neighbors. They are keenly aware that today's tots are
tomorrow's work force. They realize that investments in early development and learning
will save billions of dollars now spent by corporate America on basic skills training for
employees. Moreover, they recognize that their employees can work more productively
when they are free from worry about the care their young children are receiving during
the work day.
Some are making active efforts, leading community mobilization efforts,
pioneering more "family-friendly" employee practices, and supporting innovation and
research. Some are creating or subsidizing child care programs for their employees'
small sons and daughters. Others are forming coalitions within the business community
to address these issues on a larger scale.
Business leaders have unique access to American households through their
products and services, and through their advertising capacity. As one panelist noted,
the back panels of cereal packages are one of the most powerful communication
vehicles In America. Those who sell to families with small children usually have a great
deal of credibility with consumers. All of these companies can provide to parents and
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038
other caregivers important information, including insights that spring from recent brain
research.
lc/cap
THE MEDIA
Media executives have often remarked that in America, if it isn't on television, it
isn't real. This is hyperbole, of course, but it does suggest the powerful impact of the
W
broadcast media on our society. Programming that sheds light on the importance of the
early years can help build and sustain efforts in states and communities across the
nation to improve results for young children and families.
Media decision makers are increasingly taking young children into account as
()
they make decisions about programming. They have also responded to President
Clinton call for V-chip and a TV rating system by giving parents more control over their
A
children's program selections.These measures-once considered unlikely-are now in
4/1
place. However, the broadcast media can do much more, supporting more
programming aimed at parents with small children, increasing educational fare on TV
and the radio, and disseminating new research findings. As the "I Am Your Child"
campaign has demonstrated, media figures are powerful influences.
The print media are devoting more space to children's issues, and more
journalists are now devoting themselves to the children's beat. To be sure, when a
toddler is kidnapped or falls in a well, they capture headlines. But new findings about
how children develop or the state of America's child care still tend to appear on back
pages, or the "women's page." There has been significant progress, but the print
media can do still more to communicate the importance of healthy development in the
early years of life.
Finally, any discussion of the media's role must include the Internet and other
electronic outlets for the dissemination and exchange of knowledge. In the next
century, more parents will have access to these resources. Many web sites, reflecting
cup
diverse concerns and emphases, offer advice to parents or let parents and caregivers
chat online. Some are sponsored by corporations that specialize in baby products.
Others have been created by national organizations, child advocacy groups, and
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039
research institutions or universities. Over time, these resources will expand. But
information on the Internet is not always reliable; it has not been fact-checked as
articles in reputable newspapers and magazines usually are. Parents may need help
evaluating the knowledge and advice they receive. Efforts to strengthen Internet
offerings for parents need to take into account the wide gap that now exists between
technology "haves" and "have nots." Communities can provide access to more of their
residents by placing appropriate technology in libraries, workplaces, schools,
community organizations, museums, housing projects, and other places where parents
can use them.
lc
GOVERNMENT
At every level, government can make sure that parents have a range of choices about
how to raise and care for their young children, as well as the tools and information that
can help them make sound decisions. The federal government has a strong role to
play in shaping legislation and policies that promote the health, well-being, and learning
of young children and their families; supporting research; disseminating its findings; and
providing technical support to states and communities as they plan, implement, and
evaluate new initiatives. It also creates and supports programs that meet a clear
national interest, such as Head Start and Early head Start.
Many of the most exciting initiatives will come from states and communities that
can tailor programs to local needs and adjust to changing circumstances. Across the
nation, many states are launching or expanding family support efforts, home visitation
programs, and a variety health care initiatives designed to safeguard young children.
They are setting higher standards for child care accreditation, and focusing more on
enforcement. They are encouraging or requiring professionals from diverse fields to
work together. States and localities must keep children at the top of their agendas,
confident that over time, their investments will strengthen the fabric of their
communities, while increasing workplace productivity and containing social spending.
[Beef up this section with more information on the Administration's
accomplishments]
RESEARCHERS
lc
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Decades of research have led to breathtaking discoveries about early child
development and learning, but much remains to be known. 26 How can we build on
recent findings about how children think and communicate? What more can be known
about how individuals learn? How can different kinds of developmental delays and
disabilities be prevented or overcome?
are
is
The insights/ reported at the White House Conference resulted from decades of
systematic inquiry. They emerged from the questions pursued by scientists and other
scholars. But they also derived from the experiences of parents and other people who
have spent their days working with children and families. Scientific inquiry requires
independent thought, but no researcher is an island. Researchers can make a vital
contribution by taking into account, at every stage of their work, the implications of their
findings for policy and practice. After all, the purpose of their investigations is not
simply to accumulate knowledge, but to reach a deep understanding of how children
grow, and how families and communities, and the nation as a whole, can contribute to
the next generation's healthy development and learning. We need to build bridges
between research and practice. And we need ways to understand how the many
findings that spring from research connect to each other.
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lc
NOTES
1.
Brown, M.W. (1997). "Role of Genes in Shaping Intelligence is Lifelong, Study
Says." The New York Times, June 6, 1997, p. A20. This article notes the finding
of a study published in 1993 by a group of scientists led by Dr. Matthew McGue
of the University of Minnesota. The study suggested a steady rise over a lifetime
in the role of heredity in cognitive function. It found that the genetic factor in
general cognitive ability is about 20 percent in infancy, 40 percent in childhood,
50 percent in adolescence, and 60 percent in adulthood. These findings are
consistent with the evidence produced by a more recent study on the role of
genes in shaping intelligence sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and
led by Dr. Gerald E. McClearn, director of the Center for Developmental and
Health Genetics at Pennsylvania State University.
2.
Donald, M. (1991). Origins of the Modern Mind: Three Stages in the Evolution of
Il
ec
Culture and Cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, p. 380.
-
3
This observation by Jean Piaget is cited in Joseph, R. (1996). Neuropsychiatry,
ec
Neuropsychology, and Clinical Neuroscience: Emotion, Evolution, Cognition,
ec
language, Memory, Brain Damage, and Abnormal ehavior. (1996). Baltimore,
MD: Williams and Wilkins, 2nd edition, p. 204.
4.
Shore, R. (1997). Rethinking the Brain: New Insights into BArly Development..
lc
New York, NY: Families and Work Institute.
5.
Teo, A., E. Carlson, P.J. Mathieu, B. Egeland, and L.A. Sroufe. 1996
"A
Prospective Longitudinal Study of Psychosocial Predictors of Achievement."
Journal of School Psychology 34(3), pp. 285,306.
to
6.
Gunnar, M.R. (1996). Quality of Care and the Buffering of Stress Physiology: Its
Potential
i
Missi
7.
Galinsky, E. and J. David. 1988 The Preschool Years: Family Strategies that
Work-From Experts and Parents. New York, NY: Ballantine Books, pp. 339, À
to
341.
8.
Kuhl, P.K., K.A. Williams, F. Lacerda, K.N. Stevens, &B. Lindblom. (1992).
spell
"Linguistic Experience Alters Phonetic Perception in Infants by 6 Months of Age."
Science 255:606,608.
th
9.
S. Blakeslee. (1997). Studies Show Talking with Infants Shapes Basis of Ability
to Think." The New York Times (April 17, 1997), p. A22.
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042
10. Shatz, C.J. (1992) 0 "The Developing Brain." Scientific American 267 (3): 60,67. Its
11. Carnegie Task Force on Meeting the Needs of Our Youngest Children. (1994).
Starting Points: Meeting the Needs of Our Youngest Children. New York:
lc
Carnegie Corporation of New York.
12. Hamburg, D.A. (1994). Today's Children: Creating a Future for a Generation in
le
Crisis. New York: Times Books, p. 104.
13.
Carnegie Task Force on Meeting the Needs of Our Youngest Children. (1994).
Starting Points: Meeting the Needs of Our oungest Children. New York:
De.
Carnegie Corporation of New York, p. 36.
14.
Melendy, M.L. (1903). The Perfect Woman. K.T. Boland.
lc
15.
Shore, R. (1996). Family Support and arent Education: Opportunities for
le
Scaling up. Meeting Paper, New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York, p. 3.
16.
Kagan, S.L. (April 1994). Defining America's Commitments to Parents and -
lc
Families: An Historical-Conceptual, Perspective. New Haven: Yale University.
17.
Families and Work Institute. (1995). Women: The New Providers. New York:
lc.
Families and Work Institute.
18.
Carnegie Task Force on Learning in the Primary Grades. (1996). Years of
Promise: A Comprehensive Learning Strategy for America's Children. New York:
lc
Carnegie Corporation of New York, p. 57.
19.
Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes Study Team. (1995). Cost, Quality, and Child
IL
Outcomes in Child Care Centers. Denver: University of Colorado; Galinsky, E.,
C. Howes, S. Kontos, and M. Shinn. (1994). The Study of Children in Family
lc
Child are and Relative Care: Highlights of Indings. New York: Families and
Work Institute.
20.
Kagan, S.L. and N.E. Cohen. (1997). Not By Chance: Final Report of the
lc.
Quality 2000 Initiative. New Haven: Yale University Bush Center.
21.
Fraiberg, S.H., E. Adelson, and V. Shapiro. (1975). "Ghosts in the Nursery: A
Psychoanalytic Approach to the Problem of Impaired Infant-Mother
Relationships," Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, Vol. 14,
to
pp. 387,422.
22.
These guidelines are adapted from a set of cross-cutting principles outlined by
the Carnegie Task Force on Learning in the Primary Grades. (1996). Years of
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Promise: A Comprehensive Learning Strategy for America's Children. New York: lc.
Carnegie Corporation of New York, p. 29.
lc.
23.
Boyer, E.L. (1991). Ready to Learn: A Mandate for the Nation. Princeton:
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
24.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and
Improvement. (1996). Building Knowledge for a nation of Learners: A
la
Framework for Education Research 1997. Washington, DC: Author, pp. 19,26.
K
25.
Love, J.M., M.E. Logue, J.V. Trudeau &/K. Thayer. (1992). Transitions to
spellant
Kindergarten in American schools: Final Report of the National Transition Study.
lc.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, p. 119.
26.
This section draws upon U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational
Research and Improvement. (1996). Building Knowledge for a nation of
In
Learners: A Framework for Education Research 1997. Washington, DC: Author,
pp. 19,26.
to
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A
lc
SELECTED RESOURCES
PUBLICATIONS
American Reads Challenge. (1997). Read Write *Now! Early Childhood Kit.
Washington, DC: Corporation for National Service, U.S. Department of Education, and
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Web site: http://www.ed.gov
Brazelton, T.B. (1992). Touchpoints: Your Child's Emotional and Behavioral
Development. New York: Addison-Wesley. Web site: http://www.brazelton.com
Carnegie Task force on Meeting the Needs of Young Children. (1994). Starting Points:
cup
Meeting the Needs of Our Youngest Children. New York, NY: Carnegie Corporation of
New York. (212)371,3200/Web site: http://www.carnegie.org
#/t/i/
Clinton, H.R. (1996). It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us. New
York: Simon & Schuster.
Families and Work Institute (In Press). Connections: A Parent's Guide to Early Brain
Development. New York: Author. (212)465-2044. Web site:
#/k
http://www.familiesandwork.comg.
Galinsky, E. and J. David. (1988). The Preschool Years: Family Strategies That Work-
From Experts and Parents. New York, NY: Ballantine.
Hamburg, D.A. (1994). Today's Children: Creating a Future for a Generation in Crisis.
New York: Times Books, p. 104.
Harris; I.B. (1996). Children in Jeopardy: Can We Break the Cycle of Poverty? New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
I Am Your Child Campaign. (1997). The New Brain Research and Your Child's Healthy
Development. (202)338-4385. Web site: http://www.iamyourchild.com
Kotulak, R. (1996). Inside the Brain. Kansas City, MO: Andrews and McMeel.
Ounce of Prevention Fund. (1994). A Head Start on Head Start: Effective Birth-to-Three
Strategies. Chicago, IL: Author. (312)922-3863. Web site: [email protected]
#/6
Ounce of Prevention Fund. (1996). Starting Smart: How Early Experiences Affect Brain
Development. Chicago, IL:Author. (312)922-3863. # 1 Web site: [email protected]
#/k
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Shore, R. (1997). Rethinking the Brain: New Insights into Early Development. New
#/t
York: NY: Families and Work Institute. (212)465-2044. Web site:
http://www.famiesandwork.org
Zero to Three: The National Center for Clinical Infant Programs. (1992). Heart Start:
#/h #
Web site: zerotothree.org
The Emotional Foundations of School Readiness. Arlington, VA: Author. (800)8994301. # A
e
FEDERAL SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE
le
FOR YOUNG CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES
Corporation for National Service
Training and Technical Assistance, Rm 9821
1201 New York Avenue NW
the Early
where's
Washington, DC 20525
Even Start
?,
U.S. Department of Education
Compensatory Education Programs
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
600 Independence Avenue SW
Room 4400-Portals Building
to
Washington, DC 20202.6132
Head Start
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Office of Public Affairs
370 L'Enfant Promenade SW
Washington, DC 20202
Child Care Bureau
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Office of Public Affairs
370 L'Enfant Promenade SW
Washington, DC 20202
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
missingration
of
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health
to
Building 31, Room 2A32, MSCr2425
31 Center Drive
Bethesda, MD 20013
National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities
P.O. Box 1492
Washington, DC 20013
Office of Special Education Programs
U.S. Department of Education
600 Independence Avenue SW
Switzer Building, Room 4613
Washington, DC 20202
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SIDEBAR 1
PROGRAM:
THE WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING:
WHAT NEW RESEARCH ON THE BRAIN TELLS Us
ABOUT OUR YOUNGEST CHILDREN
Opening Remarks
Mrs. Clinton
The President
Morning Session
Dr. David Hamburg
Carnegie Corporation of New York
New York, New York
Dr. Donald Cohen
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Dr. Carla Shatz
University of California
Berkeley California
Dr. Patricia Kuhl
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington
Dr. Ezra Davidson
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Los Angeles, California
Dr. T. Berry Brazelton
Harvard Medical School
Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Dr. Deborah Phillips
Institute of Medicine
Washington, D.C.
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049
Afternoon Session
Mrs. Gore
The Vice President
Mrs. Clinton
Dr. Gloria Rodriguez
Avance Family Support Program
San Antonio, Texas
Ms. Harriet Meyer
Ounce of Prevention
Chicago, Illinois
Ms. Sheila Amaning
Early Childhood PTA
Charlotte, North Carolina
Mr. Melvin Wearing
Chief of Police
New Haven, Connecticut
Mr. Arnold Langbo
The Kellogg Company
Battle Creek, Michigan
Mr. Rob Reiner
CastleRock Entertainment
Los Angeles, California
Governor Robert J. Miller
Nevada
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SIDEBAR 2
How ARE THE CHILDREN?
Most of our nation's young children are healthy, energetic, and look forward to bright
futures. You can see them building castles in sandboxes, donning paper crowns in fast
food restaurants, scanning the universe from their strollers. Many-though not
enough-are achieving well in school and taking active part in the lives of their
communities.
But too many young children are running into hurdles that impede or delay their
development. Too many have parents who want to do right by their children but lack the
resources or information they need to meet their many needs. And too many children
are entering school without the cognitive, social, and emotional capacities they need to
succeed in the kindergartens that await them.
Here are some recent statistics:
One in five expectant mothers receives no prenatal care in the crucial first -
trimester. For African:American, Latina, and American Indian women, the figure
1
is one in three.
Ten million children lack health insurance coverage-including 2.2 million
children under the age of three.
Despite recent improvement in immunization rates, more than a million children
have not received their full complement of recommended shots by the age of
two.
Most young children who are enrolled in child care attend programs that have
been judged, on the basis of observation by professionals, to be of mediocre to
poor quality.
Approximately one in three children are considered by their teachers to lack
important readiness skills when they enter kindergarten.
Forty percent of our children cannot read well on their own by the time they finish
the third grade.
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051
SIDEBAR 3.A
PHONING HOME
You might think of a brain cell as something like a telephone-although unlike a phone,
it communicates with other brain cells by a combination of chemical and electrical
signalling.
Now, like a phone, each brain cell connects with other brain cells-anywhere
from one to ten thousand of them. So when you make a connection, one phone may
1/10
1
rk
ring, or ten thousand may ring. In all, the brain has to create a network of more than a
10
hundred trillion connections; what's more, the hook-ups have to be very precise so that
1
when you phone home, you reach your house and not a wrong number.
This is a daunting task considering that at the outset, nothing is connected to
anything else in the brain. It takes a two-step process.
First, you need trunk lines-the gross wiring. You have to string telephone wires
from one city to another, so when you place a call from Kansas City to Washington, DC,
you don't reach San Diego. In terms of brain development, this means that the neural
connections from the eye have to grow to the visual part of the brain. Connections from
the ear have to grow to the auditory part of the brain. And so on.
But the problem of wiring isn't over. Once the trunk lines are in place, you still
have to make sure that your call goes to the right address in Washington, DC, so when
DC
the White House.
your grandmother calls you up in Washington, DC, your phone rings and not the phone at
A
This is not a trivial problem. Let's take the connections from the eye to the brain.
There are about a million connections from each eye, and there are about two million
2
possible destinations that each one of these connections could reach. And yet fewer
than 100 connections are selected from this vast number of addresses-and that's just
the visual system.
So what is the solution? One possibility is that the brain could be wired like a
computer. You could build the machine, program all of the connections, push a button,
and pray that the right phone rings in the right city. In other words, the brain could rely
on genetic coding for the entire process. But imagine how much coding it would take to
program trillions of connections.
Nature's solution is much more adaptive and economical. In the process of
development, the gross wiring is pre-programmed primarily by means of genetic coding.
And then midway through the process, before all the wiring is complete, it's as if a
switch is flipped and the newly functioning brain takes over the wiring process.
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052
In this way, wiring the brain is a two-phase process. In the first phase, an
infant's brain sends signals in the right general direction. It reaches the right city; but
when it tries to phone home, there is ringing all over town.
But then, in the second phase, the brain takes over. It places trillions of phone
calls, using them to correct initial errors in address selection. In a sense, the brain is
running test patterns to figure out which are the most efficient connections. The wrong
numbers are eliminated, and the right ones are reinforced and proliferate like mad.
So the baby's brain is not just a miniature version of an adult brain. It is a
dynamic evolving structure that uses experience to form efficient neural networks.
Adapted from the presentation of Dr. Carla Schatz
SIDEBAR B
CITIZENS OF THE WORLD
\
Over the past 25 years, we've learned a tremendous amount about the child's
acquisition of language. The new research shows that in the first year of life, infants-
6
well on their way to cracking the language code.
are mapping the sound structure of language. In fact, by 76 six months of age, they are
A
It takes both nature and nurture-or, to say it another way, both biology and
culture-to bring this about. Newborns are very well prepared to acquire language. At
birth, infants across the world can discriminate all of the sound contrasts that are used
in any language of the world. I like to refer to them as citizens of the world. They don't
know which language they are going to have to acquire, so they are prepared for
anything. This is quite a feat because the acoustic events they have to pay attention to
are very, very minute.
Over time, infants have to change from citizens of the world to culture-bound
language specialists. There is now evidence that by 12 months of age, they are well on
their way to mapping the sound structure of their particular language. We know this
because we have been doing studies in all over the world, observing babies as they
listen to different languages.
In Stockholm and Seattle, for example, we observed that by SIX 16/2 months of age,
La
babies are already focusing on the particular language sounds that their language uses
contrastively, rather than the sounds of all languages. We have just learned, from
studies in Japan, that infants who at SIX months of age were able to hear the distinction
LA
between R and L no longer do so at 12 months. In other words, by the time they reach
their first birthdays, babies have begun to ignore the variations that are not essential to
their language and to pay attention only to that set of sounds that are critical for
distinguishing words in their particular language.
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What this research shows is that by SIX 16, months of age, infants' perceptual
6
systems have been altered simply by listening to us speech.
Now, six-mothers months/ are very little babies. They have yet to produce a single word;
^
the have yet to understand a single word, and yet the lesson from the research is that
they are listening to us speak and their brains are busy coding the sound structure of
the language they are going to have to master in order to be able to talk back. So the
language we produce to infants is vital to them, and that puts a great deal of
responsibility on us.
Adapted from the presentation by Dr. Patricia Kuhl
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SIDEBAR 4
CHILD CARE AND THE FAMILY
Just as research on the inner workings of the brain has ironically directed
attention outward to the importance of the environment, research on child care has
affirmed the centrality and durability of the family in the development in young children.
Today, the vast majority of families are sharing the rearing of their children with
child care providers, starting in the very first few weeks of life. We know from the new
national study of infant child care funded by the national Institute of Child health and
caps
Human Development that 80 percent of infants in the United States experience some
regular non maternal child care during the first 12 months of life. Most of these babies
started child care before their four-month birthday; they are in care typically for close to
30 hours a week. We are talking about a very high "dosage" of early child care for most
U.S. babies.
The good news is that, according to research, young children-including
babies-can thrive in child care when it is of high enough quality. In fact, by placing
your children in high quality child care, you can actually supplement what you are giving
them at home. That is why the importance of making high quality child care affordable
for more families cannot be undervalued.
Moreover, placing a baby in child care does not interfere with the development of
the mother-infant attachment relationship or the father-infant attachment relationship.
So long as parents spend enough time with their babies to become confident caregivers
and understand their needs, their bonds with their children will be extremely resilient.
No matter when families first start child care, no matter how much child care they use,
the family remains by far the most powerful influence on their children's development.
The bad news is that most of the settings where American children receive out-
of-home care fall short of any standard that could be considered optimal. "Barely
adequate" has become the term of art to describe the typical child care arrangement in
this country. Virtually every study that has involved actually going inside child care
settings and observing what happens has found that about 15 to 20 percent-one out
of every five or six programs-are in fact dismal and even dangerous. And those are
5/6
the settings that will let us in to observe them! Infants seem to get the poorest quality of
all. Of course, we also see fabulous child care in all kinds of arrangements, whether it
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055/060
SIDEBAR 5
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The story goes that when a notorious thief was asked why he robbed banks, he
answered: "Because that's where the money is." When it comes to family support and
parent education, home visitation has proven to be one of the most effective
approaches because-at least in the first weeks of life-that's where the babies are.
Home is also where new mothers and fathers are likely to be most comfortable, and
coming to them signals to parents that what they do matters, that the effort they have
spent creating a safe, secure home for their family is appreciated.
Except in cases where children are considered to be at risk of abuse or neglect,
home visits are generally voluntary. Some parents choose not to open their doors to
visitors, but will accept written information and referrals; others may prefer to meet
visitors in public places, such as a church, community center, or even a local diner.
Flexibility is a key to successful home visitation.
But most parents welcome the information and advice that nurses or other -
trained home visitors can offer. They are grateful for advice based not on theory or on
assumptions about typical families, but on the realities of their day-to-day lives. They
look forward to having a professional (or experienced caregiver with special training)
give feedback based on how their child responds at home-not in an office or
examining room. And parents can also chat and ask questions more comfortably, and
accept suggestions more readily, when the conversation takes place on their turf.
Home visits can benefit all kinds of families, but have been shown to be
especially helpful to mothers who are young, have little income, or are raising a child
alone. Research shows that in these cases, regular home visits by nurses during
pregnancy and a child's first two years improve children's health status and social
adjustment.
Home visitation services may be offered through community-based
organizations, preschools, health clinics, or neighborhood family-child centers. The
visitors may be nurses, social workers, or parent aides. In many cases, home visits are
offered as part of more comprehensive family support and parent education programs.
Many well established programs, including Parents as Teachers (PAT), Healthy
Families America (HFA), Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY),
Avance, and Parent-Child Centers, include home visits. In addition, a number of states,
including Vermont and Missouri, have made home visitation a cornerstone of their
efforts to improve results for young children and their families.
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SIDEBAR 6
ON THE LAND, IN THE AIR, ON THE SEA AND IN THE SANDBOX
Americans can take pride in the fact that their armed forces are state-of-the-art
strategists and-when necessary-superb combatants. But few realize that they are
also among the world's finest child care providers. That is why President Clinton has
asked the Department of Defense to share its success with civillan child care centers.
Today, about 1.5 million men and women are on active duty in our nation's
armed forces. Nearly 40 percent of them have small children who need care while their
parents are at work. But affordable, high-quality is often hard to come by in the places
where military families are stationed.
$
The military responded, over recent decades, by setting up its own child care centers,
I
but these facilities tended to be overcrowded and understaffed. Pay was low, staff
turnover was high, and parents' morale plummeted. By 1990, the situation was
considered serious enough to undermine military 's readiness.
U.S.
Since 1990, the Department of Defense has committed substantial resources to
X
expanding and improving its child care services. The goal was to reduce absenteeism,
increase commitment, and most importantly, allow men and women in uniform to focus
on their jobs, reassured that their children are safe and well cared for.
Worldwide, the military's child care programs now serves more than 150,000
children each day. Every military base offers a range of child care options, including full-
day, part-day, and hourly child care services, as well as part-day preschools. The
military oversees more than 530 child care centers on bases as well as some 10,000
family child care homes in base housing run primarily by soldiers' spouses. There are
also some 300 facilities where school-aged children can receive care before or after
school hours.
us.
By investing in its staff and stressing training, the Department of Defense has
A
become not only one of the nation's largest child care providers, but also one of the
best. Anyone with a high school diploma can begin work in one of its preschools, but
"basic training" is a must. In addition, all staff must take part in at least 24 hours of
training annually-more than twice the national average for child care workers. Those
who provide care in their homes must also take part in a demanding training program
run by specialists in early childhood education and are monitored on a monthly basis.
The military pays for the training, which follows a sequential curriculum and leads to
certificates and academic degrees. The military has also created a career ladder for
caregivers-something that is sorely lacking in most early care and education. As staff
become more qualified, they can earn pay hikes and move into more responsible
positions.
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A key to effective reform was the recognition that children suffer when their
U.S.
caregivers are underpaid. By law, the Department of Defense is now required to
A
provide child care workers wages and benefits equivalent to those for other entry-level
jobs on military bases. Higher pay has dramatically reduced staff turnover, so children
can form secure attachments to consistent, experienced caregivers. Other reforms have
included improved teacher/child ratios, strict enforcement of standards, frequent
inspections, and active parental involvement. As a result, 70 percent of the military's
child care centers have been accredited by the National Association for the Education
of Young Children, compared with 5 percent of centers nationwide.
These improvements have doubled the costs per child, but parents and the
government split the bill. Parents' fees are set on a sliding scale based on family
income. The Department of Defense's total costs for subsidizing all child care facilities
u.s.
on military bases totalled $269 in 1996.
n
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QUOTES - CHAPTER I
This unique conference is a part of our constant effort to give out children the
opportunity to make the most of their God-given potential and to help their parents lead
the way, and to remind everyone in America that this must always be part of the public's
business because we all have a common interest in our children's future.
President
Bill Clinton
There is a wide gap between scientific research and public knowledge, between what
is known about early development and what we do about that knowledge. Today's
meeting is a major step toward filling that dangerous gap.
Dr. David Hamburg
I hope this conference will get across the revolutionary idea that the activities that are
the easiest, cheapest and most fun to do with your child are also the best for his or her
development singing, playing games, reading, storytelling, just talking and listening.
Hillary Rodnam Clinton
Miller
This is the most important X issue facing the future of our X country.
Governor Bob
QUOTES - CHAPTER II
No matter how young, a child does understand a gentle touch or a smile or a loving
voice. Babies understand more than we have understood about them. Now we can
begin to close the gap
President Bill Clinton
The baby's brain is not just a miniature version of an adult brain. It is a dynamic
evolving structure that requires its own function to wire itself,
Dr. Carla Shatz
On the first day of life, a baby can search the room with her eyes, visually trace the
edges of a triangle, and look intently at her mother's eyes during a feeding.
Dr.
Donald Cohen
Children with active fathers develop a richer set of emotions and a wider, more
textured view of their world.
Vice President AI Gore
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059/060
If you can place your child in high quality child care, you can actually supplement
what you're giving them as parents and that's why the value of making high quality child
care affordable for more families is so great.
Dr. Deborah Phillips
When mothers and fathers talk to children, they raise their pitch and slow down their
communication. The slowed-down communication says, "God ahead and take your
turn. I'm addressing you. It's your turn now
Dr. Patricia Kuhl
The reason we talk to babies in a special way is that they know we're talking to them.
If I hold up a newborn with his head away from me and say, Hi, how are you doing?
Come on, you can turn to my voice, that newborn turns to my voice and arches toward
me as if to say, There you are!
Dr. T. Berry Brazelton
By six months of age, infants are well on their way to cracking the language code.
Dr. Patricia Kuhl
As researchers, we don't advise parents to try and accelerate the normal pattern of
3
development. We don't recommend flash cards to try to teach words to three-
n
monthers. Nature has provided a perfect fit between the parents' desire to
communicate with the child and the child's ability to soak this information up.
Dr.
Patricia Kuhl
An infant's cognitive growth occurs through emotional and social interactions.
Dr.
Harriet Meyer.
Too many women in this country still do not get adequate prenatal care because of
lack of knowledge, motivation, resources, or insurance, and we must work to reduce
these barriers.
Dr. Ezra Davidson
The most important assessment tool that we have is our power of observation Dr.
Sally Provence, the great pioneer of infant development, said: Don't just do something,
stand there. She meant that observing how a parent and child interact is critical to
understanding how to reach out and to help them. Sometimes, we need to leave the
parent and the child alone.
Dr. Harriet Meyer
We looked at research conducted in Michigan which concluded that factors outside of
the school are four times more important in determining a student's success on
standardized tests than are factors within the school This reaffirmed for those of us
in business that we cannot just sit on the sidelines and criticize. We must be
involved.
Arnold Langbo, CEO, Kellogg Corporation
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060/060
One of the things I learned [by taking part in the Early Childhood PTA] is that there is
always opportunity to take advantage of a teachable moment. You don't have to take
your child out to a "fun fair." You can begin at home. You can begin in your kitchen.
You can go right outside your back door.
Sheila Amaning
In my career, I never thought that I would see police officers and mental health
professionals working together as a team. Through the Child Developing/Community
Policing partnership, we no longer work in isolation from each other. We no longer
need to turn away from the devastated faces of children who have been traumatized.
Chief Melvin Wearing
There are people in this room who have been wrestling with these problems for 15,
20, 25 years, and we have the solutions. My job is to take this information and
disseminate it to the public, because we have to create a public will. Once we create a
public will, there will be a wave that is inescapable.
Rob Reiner
Scientists have discovered much about the world that surrounds us, but the train
inside our skulls remains a source of mystery and wonder, and is, in a sense, the next
frontier of human understanding.
Vice President AI Gore
Our challenge as elected officials is to work together at all levels of government. The
federal government can and should have a role State governments should have a
role, not just in working with the federal government, but on their own. We're putting
several million dollars into the family concept that ve put forth in the State of Nevada.
And I think more can and should be invested in future years. We should also
coordinate with local government.
Governor Bob Miller
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001/060
STATEMENT IDEAR OF EDUCATION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
*
FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT
UNITED STATES OF AMERKA
National Institute On Early Childhood Development and Education
555 New Jersey Avenue, NW Room 606
Washington, DC 20208
FAX COVER SHEET
# Pages (including this one) 60
Date: July 29, 1998
To:
Jennifer Klein
Fax Number: 202/456-2878 Phone Number: 456-2599
From: Naomi Karp
Fax Number: 202-273-4768
Phone Number: 202-219-1935
* Comments:
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20208
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054/060
SIDEBAR 4
CHILD CARE AND THE FAMILY
Just as research on the inner workings of the brain has ironically directed
attention outward to the importance of the environment, research on child care has
affirmed the centrality and durability of the family in the development in young children.
Today, the vast majority of families are sharing the rearing of their children with
child care providers, starting in the very first few weeks of life. We know from the new
national study of infant child care funded by the national Institute of Child health and
Caps
Human Development that 80 percent of infants in the United States experience some
regular non maternal child care during the first 12 months of life. Most of these babies
started child care before their four-month birthday; they are in care typically for close to
4h
30 hours a week. We are talking about a very high "dosage" of early child care for most
U.S. babies.
The good news is that, according to research, young children-including
babies-can thrive in child care when it is of high enough quality. In fact, by placing
your children in high quality child care, you can actually supplement what you are giving
them at home. That is why the importance of making high quality child care affordable
for more families cannot be undervalued.
Moreover, placing a baby in child care does not interfere with the development of
the mother-infant attachment relationship or the father-infant attachment relationship.
So long as parents spend enough time with their babies to become confident caregivers
and understand their needs, their bonds with their children will be extremely resilient.
No matter when families first start child care, no matter how much child care they use,
the family remains by far the most powerful influence on their children's development.
The bad news is that most of the settings where American children receive out-
of-home care fall short of any standard that could be considered optimal. "Barely
adequate" has become the term of art to describe the typical child care arrangement in
this country. Virtually every study that has involved actually going inside child care
settings and observing what happens has found that about 15 to 20 percent-one out
of every five or SIX programs-are in fact dismal and even dangerous. And those are
516
the settings that will let us in to observe them! Infants seem to get the poorest quality of
all. Of course, we also see fabulous child care in all kinds of arrangements, whether it
is from grandma or a teacher in a child care setting.
Neuroscience tells us that these suboptimal child care environments should
affect early development. Child care research confirms that they do. The quality of the
child care environment significantly affects virtually every aspect of development that
we know how to measure, whether it is problem-solving skills or social interactions or
(2)
attention span or verbal development.
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EDUCATION OF EDUCA DEPAR TION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
*
FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT
UNITED STATES OF AMERKA
National Institute On Early Childhood Development and Education
555 New Jersey Avenue, NW Room 606
Washington, DC 20208
FAX COVER SHEET
# Pages (including this one) 60
Date: July 29, 1998
To:
Jennifer Klein
Fax Number: 202/456-2878 Phone Number: 456-2599
From: Naomi Karp
Fax Number: 202-273-4768
Phone Number: 202-219-1935
* Comments:
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20208-
07/29/98 13:39 FAX 2022734768
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003