Letter: On child’s brain development – Boston Sun
By Ben Seigal
The first few years of a child’s life are the most important for brain development and have lifelong effects…
Econometric data demonstrates that when infants and children in poverty have high-quality early childcare, their economic and social well-being as adults increases by 7-10% per year (13% per year if early childcare starts at birth). Early investment is the best fiscal investment impacting even the second generation by reducing the need for later interventions, including for health, mental health, employment, education, and incarceration.
The Common Start Coalition (commonstartma.org) is proposing state legislation (H.489 and S. 301) to strengthen public support for early childcare and early education programs to ensure greater stability for providers and greater accessibility and affordability for parents. This program is good for parents who wish to work and most especially for single parents who need to work. Greater investment in early education and childcare also stimulates the economy by ensuring that decent, living salaries and benefits are provided to early childcare workers. This is the best program for Massachusetts families for support and equity now and for the future for children.