A few years ago, The Urban Child Institute (UCI) and Neighborhood Christian Centers partnered on a simple concept that would encourage Mid-South families to spend time together in a way that fused science and good old fashioned parenting. What emerged was Touch Talk Read Play (TTRP).
One of the leading child advocacy organizations in Shelby County and one of the oldest locally-owned radio stations in the Mid-South are joining forces to take their messages to the streets, literally. The Urban Child Institute recently formed a new partnership with WLOK to increase awareness for best practices to promote optimal brain development in young children from birth to age three.
All cities are working hard to answer challenges that face them, but the trick is to make sure the right questions are asked in the first place. The brain development of our youngest children in Memphis must be a top priority for our local agenda. We now have the conclusive scientific results to guide us and the in-depth knowledge to inform us, but to succeed, we need to mobilize a communitywide sense of urgency to give every child a fair start in life through maximum brain development.
History teaches us that there are significant events that are pivotal in shaping our future. In 2012, we believe the seeds were planted here in Memphis that have the power to shape the coming years for our community. It is the year that our message about brain development in early childhood gathered important momentum, took on a sense of urgency, and assumed its place as one of our top priorities in this community.
Memphis Connect recently published a great article summarizing a recent symposium organized by People First and the Early Success Coalition about how the health of children in our community is directly tied to the health of our community. If you haven't already, read it now. You can also read some of our articles on the subject of stress.
More and more people are seeing our Baby Small campaign is continuing and we're excited that it's getting rave reviews. Here are a few comments we've heard. This is our chance to change Memphis by making these small investments in our children, we make the biggest difference in their lives and in turn, our community as a whole. Their future is our future, and we need your help to change it for the better.
