Why are the Early Years so Important?

Decades of research in neurobiology, developmental psychology, economics and the social sciences have resulted in a new understanding of the importance of the early years.

Several seminal documents have been recently published that contribute to our knowledge about how children’s brains develop and how the social and physical environments of children impact learning, behaviour and health throughout the life-course.

The first of these documents was The Early Years Study: Reversing the Real Brain Drain, published in 1999 by Hon. Margaret McCain and J. Fraser Mustard. This study outlines the evidence on the relationship between early brain development and learning, behaviour, and health throughout all stages of life. It also reports steps to achieve the goal of improved outcomes for all young children.

Another document was prepared by the Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development and is entitled From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development (2000).The report provides updated current knowledge about the nature of early development and the role that early experiences play in how the brain is “wired”, how children learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It also examines the effect of the family, child care, and community as important environments in which the child grows.

• An updated monograph has been produced in January 2007 entitled The Science of Early Childhood Development (2007) by the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (www.developingchild.net). The goal of this document is to help the public and its policy makers to understand and take action on the core concepts of development.

The Early Years Study 2: Putting Science into Action (2007) is an audit of what has happened in early child development science and practice since the publication of the first Early Years Study: Reversing the Real Brain Drain (1999). It outlines new empirical findings about experience-based brain development and how the kind of environment that children are exposed to early on either promotes or impairs the wiring of the brain.

Our Promise to Children was published as a result of a nationwide collaboration across Canada, including Dr. Fraser Mustard (Canadian Institute for Advanced Research), Dr. Dan Offord (Centre for Studies of Children at Risk, McMaster University). Published in 1997, Our Promise to Children helped to draft unique Canadian goals on promoting healthy early child development.

All of these documents highlight how children’s interaction with their parents and other caregivers in their family or community results in neuronal connections that determine how the brain will be built over time. The quality of a child’s early experiences plays a significant role in their physical, social, emotional and intellectual development. Children raised in nurturing and stimulating environments will develop trillions of neuronal connections and chemical reactions that support healthy development. However, children that are neglected, abused or raised in perilous surroundings develop far fewer neuronal connections, adverse chemical reactions and show sub-optimal development and poor health outcomes. The resulting damage to the brain can result in lifelong behaviour and learning problems that can be costly if not impossible to remediate.

In order to remain a healthy and prosperous society in the 21st century, Canada will need to improve the health, well-being, and competence of its population. Children of the next generation will need to be highly literate and mathematically numerate to cope with the daunting challenges they will face as they enter an increasingly complex workplace. In a recent survey of Canadians, an alarming 42% of the Canadian population performed below Level 3 on a standard literacy assessment, the minimum level required to understand and use information in the emerging knowledge-based economy.
Necessary literacy levels cannot be achieved unless we substantially improve the environment for early child development. While the responsibility for developing the required skills and competencies falls under the mandate of the education system, how a child will function in school is largely determined before they enter school.

A child’s capacity to learn (e.g., process and retain information, recognize patterns, listen to and understand others in the classroom) is strongly influenced by the neural connections made in the brain in the first few years of life. The brain begins to develop in utero and continues to grow and form critical neuronal pathways in the first three years that are responsible for everything from the central auditory system to language and emotional control.

For optimal development children need quality experiences in early life that focus on their emotional, social as well as cognitive development. Environments that promote play-based learning offer children a wide variety of opportunities to explore the world around them and while receiving the rich sensory stimulation they need to promote healthy brain development. Early learning also needs to include parents as the relationship between children and their caregivers is central to optimal development. Parents need to be supported in this important role, access to information about child development at the appropriate time and guidance in how to actively participate in their children’s early learning.

An array of programs and services beginning from infancy to help children develop the necessary core competencies that they will need to be ready for school, need to be readily accessible in communities and preferably linked to schools. Integrated early learning and parenting centres located in neighborhood schools that provide a common pedagogical approach to the core functions of child development, non-parental care and parenting support are more likely to be used by parents thereby producing better outcomes for children.

Key recommendations from the Early Years Study 2 and the Neurons to Neighborhoods Study include:

• Share, apply and act on the expanding science of early childhood development
• Increase community capacity to deliver high-quality early childhood programs
• Equip decision makers with the tools needed to set policies and allocate resources for early learning programs accessible for all families
• Develop and promote champions in the business and political community to speak publicly about the benefits of early childhood development and program integration
• Collect high-quality good data to track progress and create change
• Integrate and expand existing early childhood programs