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* To educate very young children effectively, we must provide enriched learning experiences and, also, promote healthy brain development so that they can take advantage of those experiences.
* Stable, nurturing, and predictable relationships with family, neighbors, and childcare providers promote positive development.

Harvard EdCast: Protecting Children’s Brains

By newseditor 08/24/2011 11:25 AM EST | 3 Comments

Professor Jack Shonkoff, director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, explains some of the science behind early childhood development and how education can help.

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About the Harvard EdCast

The Harvard EdCast is a weekly series of podcasts, available on the Harvard University iTunes U page, that features a 15-20 minute conversation with thought leaders in the field of education from across the country and around the world. Hosted by Matt Weber, the Harvard EdCast is a space for educational discourse and openness, focusing on the myriad issues and current events related to the field.

Center on the Developing Child, child development, EdCast, faculty, Jack Shonkoff, research

Jrrowe

Stable, nurturing, and predictable relationships with family, neighbors, and childcare providers promote positive development.

Parents who are doing this don’t need to hear it; and parents who aren’t doing it have such significant economic and social problems that make implementing your suggestions unrealistic.
New mother

Any specific tips on how to protect an infant from harm and disruptive environments? Does that mean to limit how much time it spends in crowds, hearing loud sirens, or to ensure that there is more than one main caregiver during the day on a regular basis so that it feels the support of a broader community? What if the extended family is absent or geographically thousands of miles apart — any ideas how to counter some of those stresses in the baby’s surroundings?
Suzanne Smith Darley

Everyone needs to hear this important information. Even a parent with little to no resources can improve upon their parenting style. Schools need to hear this as well. So many preschools are teaching skill and drill or nothing at all. We need a much greater focus on quality programs for children under the age of 5. Right now they are hard to find and it is a shame considering their impact on the lives of young children.