Of the close to 15,000 children born in Shelby County each year, more than half (56%) are born to families living in poverty. This means that a family of four has an annual income below $22,350.
The 2011 holiday season is here and – for many families – it brings higher heating bills, worries about gift expenses, and disrupted schedules. Too often, this is a recipe for added household stress, with negative consequences for the brain development and well-being of young children.
Home visting programs help promote positive parenting behaviors in order to promote a healthy home environment. These programs can help prevent child neglect or abuse. In Memphis specifically, the Nurse-Family Partnership home visiting program has reduced health care encounters by 28% and hospitalizations for injuries of young children by 79%. The Nurse-Family Partnership program is just one of many home visiting programs.
School readiness is a strong predictor of later education, health, and adult achievement. Children’s earliest experiences contribute to their kindergarten readiness. High-quality early childhood care and education supports children’s brain development and school readiness. In Memphis, many children do not have access to high-quality early programs and struggle when they reach kindergarten.
By age 2, children in immigrant families are likely to have significantly lower levels of language and cognitive development than are children of native-born parents. Differences in early development, in turn, lead to achievement gaps when children reach school.
We know that kids’ earliest experiences have lasting effects throughout their lives. Well, what about the long term effects of playtime in their early life? Young children learn and begin to understand the world around them through play.
