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.
It's the time of year when we look back at the past year and make resolutions for the new one. It's no different at The Urban Child Institute, as we step back to consider what has been done for children's brain development in 2011 and what our plans will be for 2012.
There are frequent conversations in Memphis about what our city brand should be. Some people suggest that it should be about transportation, other say logistics, and some say our river heritage. Those are important assets of Memphis, but they are things. They don't really speak directly to our community values and who we are as a people.
Getting Down to Business with Brain Development
More than Just Stimulating Minds
The importance of early years experience on the developing brain and children's developmental trajectories is a message the science community has long sent – and it's a message that has been well received by policy and practice over the past decade. Indeed, the upsurge in pre-school provision such as Head Start in the US and Sure Start in the UK indicates the importance placed on early years by policy makers.