Dr. Sara Watson is the executive vice president of America’s Promise Alliance and the director and cofounder of ReadyNation, a collaboration of business leaders, economists, and philanthropists that enlists business leaders to advocate for proven investments in young children. I spoke with Sara about the benefits of early childhood programs and ReadyNation’s efforts to encourage investment in those initiatives.
The fundamental rationale for linking early childhood and later behavior lies in neuroscientific evidence on early brain development. The most rapid growth in brain development occurs during pregnancy and the first three years of life. According to theCenter on the Developing Child at Harvard University, during that period the brain develops 700 neural synapses—the connections that support learning—every second. And children learn what they experience.
Early childhood programs can build on this physical development to help children start down the right path in life. High-quality programs are so effective that a variety of rigorous randomized controlled-trial studies have shown a causal link between participation in these programs and reductions in later participation in crime. Such programs foster basic school-readiness skills, which include academic skills—number and letter recognition, how to hold a book or a crayon—as well as social and emotional skills that enable them to learn: how to follow directions, listen, and solve problems in a productive way.
http://cbkb.org/2012/07/the-benefits-of-early-childhood-programs-part-2-of-an-interview-with-sara-watson/
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