Resources for Early Childhood Development

The Raising of America

EPISODE 1: THE SIGNATURE HOUR. The science is clear: when parents are stressed, babies pay the price. That is why improving conditions for families with young children is one of the best investments any nation can make.

Are We Crazy About Our Kids?

Economists are clear: investing in high-quality early care and education is good for our kids and communities, and even pays for itself many times over. So, why aren’t we investing?

Once Upon a Time

Imagine how things would be different today if high-quality childcare and pre-K was affordable and available to every family who wanted it. It almost happened.

The Child Olympics

The U.S. may still win the most gold medals in the Olympics every four years, but we are losing the child Olympics every day.

The Family Leave Shuffle

Paid leave is the rule, not the exception, in every other rich and middle income nation. How is it that in the wealthiest nation on earth we ask so many parents to make a trade-off: you can take time to recover from childbirth, bond with and nurture your new baby, but you’ll have to forfeit your pay?

Can I Borrow a Diaper?

Food banks to feed the hungry have become as much a part of our economic landscape as tax breaks for billionaire hedge fund managers. Neither seems to provoke much surprise, alarm or anger anymore. But diaper banks?

High/Scope Perry Preschool Study

The High/Scope Perry Preschool study examined the short- and long-term effects of a high-quality preschool education program for young children living in poverty, collecting data on the students through age 40. The program operated from 1962 to 1967 in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

The New Achievement Gap

Income inequality is not the only gap that has been growing dramatically in the United States over the past forty years. The gap in educational achievement between the rich and everybody else has widened greatly as well.

Trailer - Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time allows us to imagine how things might be different if all of America’s children had access to high-quality early care and education—in fact, we almost did.

Was Perry Preschool Worth It?

The students attending this high-quality early ed program were followed for 50 years. What did we learn?

Billions for Corporations...or Childcare?

Families are expected to do it alone. Yet other sectors of our society receive billions in state support.

Utah Invests in Preschool

A Salt Lake City school district is closing the achievement gap and radically cutting special ed costs by investing early in high-quality preschool.

Suspended from Kindergarten?

In 2012, in Connecticut alone, almost 2,000 children 6 years and under—overwhelmingly black and Latino—were suspended from kindergarten and preschool.

Does Cash Help?

Professor Jane Costello of Duke University Medical School was conducting a study of rural children in the Great Smokey Mountains of North Carolina, a quarter of whom were Cherokee, when the tribe opened a casino. This allowed Professor Costello to conduct a natural experiment because soon casino profits started flowing to Cherokee families and cut the Cherokee poverty rate by half.

Are Debtors' Prisons Back?

This New York Times article and this episode of comedian John Oliver’s TV show illustrate a municipal practice which combines the entanglements of Kafka with the debtors' prisons of Dickens.

Raising Children Out of Poverty

Which rich nations have the lowest child poverty rates? It depends on whether their governments are stepping in to help.

Where Did the Wealth Go?

Workers in America have been some of the most productive in the world over the past century. But those same workers may not be the ones benefiting from their hard work.

We're Number One!

Just a few decades ago, the U.S. was among the world’s leaders when it came to indicators of how well our children were doing. Today, we're Number One in a whole lot of other ways.

9 Ways to Reduce Poverty

Proven programs like high-quality early care and ed and the nurse-family partnership can help buffer the effects of poverty. But if we really want to improve life prospects for poor kids we need to reduce the number of poor kids. Which means increasing their families’ incomes.

Time to Smell the Roses

High-Quality Childcare is a Top Military Priority

The nation’s single largest employer provides government funded childcare. It’s high-quality and it’s affordable.

International Data Sounds a Warning

To imagine how the US will do tomorrow, we need only ask how its children are doing today. International data sounds a warning.

The Neighborhood Matters

Nobody does this alone. Nobody does this in isolation. The environment that the family lives in matters.

America Would Explode in Creativity

The capacity of the brain and the human spirit to continue and thrive and develop is beyond what any of us could predict.

Government Funded Childcare During WWII

When women were suddenly propelled into the workforce during WWII, the government responded.

The Child Olympics (PDF)

This PDF takes you through the screens of the Child Olympics activity. We see that the United States performed poorly in the latest Child Olympics - in infant mortality, child poverty, preschool enrollment and high school graduation.

Where Did the Wealth Go? (PDF)

From 1948 to 1979, wages in America matched its explosive growth in productivity. But since then, productivity has risen dramatically and wages have barely moved at all.

The Family Income Gap

Family income earned by the top 5% and the bottom 20% grew in tandem from the 1940s to the 1970s. But since then, income for the top 5% has grown and grown and grown while income for the bottom 20% has stagnated.

The Income-Achievement Gaps

The gap in achievement scores between rich kids and poor kids has grown just as fast as the income gap.

Babies in Finland Sleep in Boxes?

Reducing Child Poverty - Before and After

Many nations use government assistance and tax programs to raise children and families out of poverty. To see how much these transfers and taxes matter, compare the child poverty rates BEFORE and AFTER government benefits. Which countries end up with the lowest percentage of their children living in poverty? And which the highest?

Trailer - Are We Crazy About Our Kids?

Economists rarely turn their attention to the world of early childhood and preschool. But with a wealth of scientific research pointing to the importance of a child’s earliest years, several economists are worried about our investments in early childhood.

Trailer - The Raising of America (11 min)

The Raising of America reframes the way we look at early child health and development. This ambitious documentary series and multimedia initiative by the producers of UNNATURAL CAUSES: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? explores how a strong start for all our kids leads not only to better individual life course outcomes (learning, earning and physical and mental health) but also to a healthier, safer, better educated and more prosperous and equitable America.

We're Number One!

Just a few decades ago, the U.S. was among the world’s leaders when it came to indicators of how well our children were doing. Today, we’re Number One in a whole lot of other ways.

Zip code or genetic code?

Segregating America's Neighborhoods

Discussion Guide - The Raising of America Signature Hour

Discussion Guide for The Raising of America Signature Hour (Episode 1)

Discussion Guide - Once Upon a Time

Discussion Guide for Once Upon a Time (Episode 2)

Discussion Guide - Are We Crazy About Our Kids?

Discussion Guide for Are We Crazy About Our Kids? (Episode 3)

Do These Numbers Add Up? Early Childhood in America

How are we doing in caring for our children? Are we setting our children—and our nation—up for success?

Trailer - The Raising of America (30 sec)

This is the 30-second trailer that you can embed on your website for The Raising of America: Early Childhood and the Future of Our Nation, the 5-part documentary series that seeks to reframe the way Americans look at early childhood health and development.

The Veto That Killed Childcare

Working behind the scenes, Pres. Nixon and his young White House speech writer, Patrick Buchanan, shocked Congress when they invoked ‘family values’ for the first time to undercut families.

When Congress Passed Childcare for All

Then Senator (and former VP) Walter Mondale describes how a bi-partisan Congress assured high-quality childcare and other services from birth to age five for every family that wanted it back in 1971.

China Invests Billions in Early Ed

Nations around the world are investing heavily in early care and ed - and don’t understand why the U.S. isn’t.