Monday, December 10, 2007

What's on your mind?

"According to neuroscience and child development research, brain development proceeds at a faster pace between conception and the first day of kindergarten than during any subsequent stage of life. In the early years, basic capacities such as trust, self-confidence, empathy, and curiosity are established. How people think, learn, reason, and relate to others throughout their lives is rooted in their early relationships, experiences, and environments."

Common Vision, Different Paths: Five States' Journeys toward Comprehensive Prenatal-to-Five Systems"

One clarification: Research like this isn't meant to crank up the guilt factor for parents. It's meant to inform the people who are making the the public policy and academic decisions that will affect children who don't have immediate access to a loving, nurturing environment.

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