The US seems to have missed that memo.
The first few years of a child’s life are critical for building their adult success. “Serve and return,” the process by which adults engage with babies by making eye contact, smiling, talking and teaching them provide the basis for building communication and healthy relationships. Reading to kids, singing to them and having conversations builds literacy and language. Play helps kids socialize, develop motor skills and learn to be part of a group...
...But most parents work, making affordable childcare solutions critical, especially for poorer families where stress levels can be high...
Britain figured this out in 2004, when parliament reviewed the research on the benefits of early childhood programs...
The government now pays for any child in England who has turned three by Sept. 1 to have 15 hours a week of free child-care or preschool for 38 weeks a year, or 570 hours total...
Having subsidized childcare has significant ripple effects, including helping women balance work and home life...
The children benefitted too...children achieving “good development” has increased since the introduction of free preschool 12 years ago...
Compare that to the US, one of the few developing countries where women are returning to work at increasingly lower rates a year after giving birth...
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