Early Childhood Development
Learning development starts long before a child begins kindergarten. A child’s development is strengthened through regular interaction and stimulation in both the home and in quality early learning settings.
Here are five things to know about child care and childhood development:
- The brain is most flexible and adaptable to learning during the earliest years of life. More than 1 million new neural connections are formed every second in the first few years of life.
- Children are already rehearsing how to produce language at 7 months old.
- When a child enters kindergarten ready for school, there is an 82% chance they will master basic skills by age 11, compared with a 45% chance for children who are not school ready.
- High-quality early childhood education has a long-term effect on children’s cognitive and socioemotional development through kindergarten and beyond. It’s also shown to help children improve attentiveness, regulate their emotions, and develop social connections.
- Attending preschool is shown to reduce the likelihood that a child repeats a grade by 15%.
Learn more:
Posts
First Lady Jill Biden & the Duchess of Cambridge Discuss Importance of Early Childhood Education
Today, First Lady Jill Biden and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, visited a classroom of young learners to see firsthand the importance of high-quality early education opportunities for children from …
FFYF’S Sarah Rittling Joins ‘Engage for Women’ Co-Founder to Discuss Opportunities for Progress on Child Care & Early Learning
This week, FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling joined Engage for Women, a bipartisan organization that seeks to promote women’s economic security, to discuss the opportunity to build a child care …
MIT Study Reveals Long-Term Benefits of High-Quality Early Childhood Education
This morning, the School Effectiveness and Inequality Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) released the findings of a new study on the long-term effects of Boston’s preschool program. …
ZERO TO THREE Releases State of Babies Yearbook: 2021
ZERO TO THREE released the State of Babies Yearbook: 2021, an in-depth report on how state and federal policies and the COVID-19 pandemic impact the lives of families and their …
National Report Examines State Preschool Policies in 2019-2020, Including Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) released the 2020 State of Preschool report, an annual survey of state preschool policies, which includes recent data on how the COVID-19 …
CDC Guidance for Operating Child Care Programs During COVID-19
Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated guidance for operating child care programs during COVID-19 based on the most recent science and new evidence around important …
FFYF’s Blueprint for Progress
Across the political spectrum, voters and policymakers recognize the importance of investing in policy solutions that support healthy development in children, beginning at birth, while allowing working parents to pursue …
John Legend: Invest in Early Childhood Education
John Legend knows that legends can come from anywhere. They all start in the same place: with a dream and a chance to make that dream come true. High-quality early …
FFYF Commemorates Mental Health Awareness Day
Saturday is Mental Health Awareness Day, and FFYF is proud to commemorate this important reminder to prioritize mental health initiatives that promote children’s healthy development from the start. During the …
New Report Offers Additional Data on Pandemic’s Impact for Child Care
Last week, Child Care Aware of America released a new report, Picking Up the Pieces: Building a Better Child Care System Post-COVID-19. The report outlines the pandemic’s impact on child …
Report Examines Adverse Childhood Experiences in Early Childhood
Research shows that young children develop 1 million new neural connections every second making early childhood a crucial for long-term development. Research also finds that children’s social environments play an …
