Create Something New for a Change!

Let's create something new in early care and education. There is a pressing need for high-quality options, especially in infant and toddler care. Since a child's approach to problem-solving and general attitudes toward learning are formed during this time, we must stop treating it as if it doesn't matter.

Investing in children and their caregivers during this period holds the most significant potential for societal change. It's been scientifically proven that focusing on

the first few years of life can produce individuals who are better planners, problem-solvers, and more empathetic.

 In the first few years of life, more than 1 million new neural connections form every second. After this period of rapid proliferation, connections are reduced through a process called pruning, which allows brain circuits to become more efficient. In light of these findings, focusing on early childhood only makes sense. -Center for the Developing Child, Harvard University-

Just a few short years after we realize and act on this, we'll see significant savings in our government's spending on behavior management, juvenile detention, teen pregnancy, and incarceration. Isn't this what everyone wants?

After the devastation of WWII, in Reggio Emilia, Italy, the whole city worked together to build an educational program for its youngest. The educational philosophy they developed is among the most significant and highly regarded in the world.

Adults who have experienced this

philosophy tend to be strong, creative, and confident problem-solvers with a deep sense of curiosity and self-efficacy. They possess highly developed socio-emotional skills, are comfortable with collaboration and teamwork, and have a strong foundation in inquiry-based learning and critical thinking.

With 70-90% of all voters in the US wanting their candidates to support early care and education, this could be our best opportunity to focus on our youngest for a change, as they did in Italy. Think about it

We finally have the potential to create something positive. Mediocre, poor-quality, pricey, and unavailable child care options need to be replaced with small pods of infants and toddlers cared for by professional educators and parents working together with the government and employers to make high-quality care a reality for all families.

Here are 3 simple actions you can take today to help create something new.

one

Contact your representatives. Here is an easy link to take action.

Here's another link

two

Buy The Daycare Myth here.

Learn more about it on a free podcast

three

visit us on Facebook for some fun and cute baby videos!

Nanci J Bradley is an early childhood and family educator, author, teacher, family aerobics instructor, and all-around fun-loving person. She believes in the power of sleep, healthy eating, lifelong learning, and most of all, PLAY!  She studied early childhood ed at Triton College and received her BS in education in 1986 from NIU. She received her MA in human development from Pacific Oaks College in 2011. She lives and teaches in Madison WI and is the founder of early childhood rocks, a non-profit org dedicated to creating change through early childhood education.