Resources for Early Childhood Development

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.

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.

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.

Why is Escaping Poverty an Individual Problem?

Ashley, a single mom in Maine dependent on meager public assistance, worries about the health and well-being of her two young girls.

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.

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.

Can Poverty Modify the Epigenome?

If social conditions can “get under the skin” and modify our biology, are less-affluent children being primed for more problems in life?

Our Experiences Go Deeper Than We Thought

We’ve long known that early life can last a lifetime. Now new science shows how our experiences can become imprinted in our biology, altering gene expression.

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.

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?

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.