Brain Development and the Toxicity of Poverty
The Importance of Early Child Development
At the UW offices there has been quite a lot of talk about the effects of poverty on early childhood brain development. Now it looks like the discussion is reaching the mainstream. Check out this Financial Times article that summarizes why early childhood intervention is so important and why living in poverty is “poison” to the brain.
Laura- It is great to see
Laura-
It is great to see that this research on the effects of poverty on early brain development is continuing to garner this level of attention.
I think one of the most important things to remember here however, is that combatting the negative effects of poverty on children is not simply an issue of creating early care and education programs for young children and their parents. Dr. Shonkoff said it best in the last line of the article, "in the end, the only way to remove the “toxic” impact of poverty on young brains is to abolish poverty itself." This statement highlights what many of us know already, but all too often forget; that an array of strategies is needed (from providing parenting education and support to adult basic education and job training) to lift families out of poverty in order to make sure all kids have a healthy start in life.
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