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 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?

Who's Paid What?

Since helping our babies and young children thrive is one of the most vital jobs in any nation, the people who do this work in the U.S. must be paid well, right?

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?

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.

Speed Bumps or Off the Tracks?

Life is full of unexpected demands - the car breaks down, the kids get sick. For some families, these are merely speed bumps. But for other families, they can be thrown completely off the tracks.

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.

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

Do You Have Paid Maternity Leave?

Every major economy on the planet assures paid maternity or family leave – except the U.S.

Security? I Don't Really Know What That Feels Like

It’s hard to try to make everything work. You feel pulled in all different directions.

Would Early Life Stress Stay in Their Bodies?

How might child developmental paths be affected by the stressors parents face when their kids are babies? In Wisconsin, researchers followed 500 children for two decades to find out.

The Neighborhood Matters

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

In Today's Day, We All Gotta Work

Is this what we’ve decided as society, that this degree of tension, these complex trade-offs are the norm, to be expected, just a part of raising a child?

Government Funded Childcare During WWII

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

Babies in Finland Sleep in Boxes?

The Squeeze on Parents

Parents and caregivers are left to fend for themselves in a society that’s unresponsive to family needs.

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.

Discussion Guide - Once Upon a Time

Discussion Guide for Once Upon a Time (Episode 2)

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?

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.