Early Brain Development and Child Care:

Discoveries about the growth and development of the young child’s brain have important implications for child care

New insights into brain development suggest that as we care for our youngest children, as we develop policies or practices affecting their day-to-day experience, the stakes are very high. But we can take comfort in the knowledge there are many ways as parents, health professionals, caregivers, community leaders, and as policy makers we can raise healthy, happy smart children.

Scientific research shows us young children’s brains have optimal periods of development for each function. The number of brain connections (synapses) the child’s brain makes depends on the variety and richness of the early learning experience babies and toddlers are exposed to. Brain cell connections, strengthened through consistent sensory stimulation from the environment, lay the foundation for future achievement in life and success in school.

Because the quality of a child’s earliest experiences has a critical impact on brain development, the quality of infant and toddler child care has a critical impact as well. In light of what has been learned about early brain development, what must child care providers and child care advocates know? What can they do, and how can they improve their practices to help children and protect them from harm?

The new information about brain development reaffirms the traditional wisdom of maintaining small child to caregiver ratios and of providing children with consistent and loving relationships with caregivers in child care settings. Children need individualized responses. If the caregivers are watching too many children, the child is not getting enough attention; if the child has too many different caregivers, he or she is not getting enough consistency. Consistency and individual attention are important because early learning takes place within the context of relationships. The primary relationship is most often the parent, but many children spend most of their waking hours in the care of someone other than a parent. That relationship has to be a good one too.

ª Nurturing, supportive, secure, predictable relationships

ª Individualized and responsive attention and care

ª A stimulating learning environment that includes exposure to good language models

ª Ensure that each child in the child care program has a principal caregiver assignment whereby each child is paired with one adult who has primary responsibility for the child’s care. This person should not only ensure that the child’s needs are met but should also serve as this child’s advocate in communications with parents, other staff, and the pediatrician or other primary health care professional.

ª Develop a substitute caregiver plan so that when the principal caregiver is unavailable, the alternate caregiver is known to the child.

ª Institute policies and procedures that facilitate keeping children in the same grouping from infancy until they are 3 years of age.

ª Provide ongoing training, support, and technical assistance for child care providers in the areas of child development, responsive caregiving, and enhancing learning opportunities for young children.

ª Ask parents about their child care arrangements.

ª Be supportive of the choices parents make while emphasizing what young children need and how parents can ensure their child’s health and safety. Address the importance of reading (and early literacy) as well as nutrition.

ª Collaborate with others on child care health and safety initiatives:

• Advocate for principal caregiver assignments, appropriate substitute care arrangements;

• Keeping children in the same group until they are three years old; and

• Provide or coordinate parent/caregiver educational sessions on a variety of health and safety topics

Revolutionary research on infant and child brain development confirms what we knew intuitively: early learning lasts a lifetime. Today’s crisis in the quality of services to infants and young children cannot be attributed to a lack of knowledge. We must use new knowledge to advance our thinking and create significant new action. Over the past three years, Washington State has developed such new action through a public-private collaborative partnership called the Baby/Toddler Initiative Project (BTIP). BTIP is a collaborative effort that involves representatives from multiple state agencies (DSHS/OCCP, DOH, & DCTED) and numerous educational, health and community organizations to develop a statewide system incorporating improved health and safety standards in infant and toddler care through consultation, training and technical assistance, and by building capacity and quality enhancement projects. We are thrilled to report that the Washington State Child Care Resource & Referral Network (Network) is a collaborating partner in BTIP.

In addition, the Network is an active entity participating in Brainet, a community advisory group within the BTIP. Brainet seeks to promote awareness to parents, child care providers, caregivers, community leaders, health professionals, and policy makers regarding the implications of recent brain research. Brainet’s official Mission is to: Improve the lives of all children by ensuring that all persons and systems who come into contact with pregnant women and children promote healthy, optimal brain development. For more information on how you can become involved with Brainet and/or obtain FREE publication materials on early brain development research findings, please contact childcarenet@childcarenet.org.