Across the world many countries issue pregnancy grants to support mothers-to-be. South Africa has a progressive social security grant system, but it does not support this vulnerable group.
Healthy, supported children can be a boon to their countries’ economies.
Reuters/Tiksa Negeri
Poor childhood conditions, such as exposure to poverty and stunting, are associated with long-term disadvantages to health, education, social adjustment and earnings.
Children with at least two years of preschool achieve much higher scores than those who attend no preschool or only one year.
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Two years of high-quality preschool is one of the most effective strategies we have to change the trajectories of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Childhood obesity can be tackled from birth – so why aren’t we doing anything about it?
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Government funding of childcare is seen as something that helps get mums back into work, instead of setting children up for learning before they start school.
Two students – one black and one white – with the same math and reading achievement could have very different likelihoods of being identified as gifted.
Why should schools need to moderate testing?
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President Obama’s message has put issues around standardized testing back in the news. Here’s what scholars have been saying.
If you want to fast-track your child’s development, forget CDs, books that beep, and toys that whirr. Play music with them, with the emphasis being on “play”.
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The reorganisation of federal ministerial portfolios this week moved early childhood education and care from social services to education. This is a good thing.
It may be costed, but that doesn’t mean it will work.
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Labour’s 2015 manifesto aims to improve life for children and it suggests that one effective means of achieving that aim is to invest in early years’ provision. The claim is that a child’s language development…
The Productivity Commission’s report on childcare will help inform the Abbott government’s soon-to-be-unveiled ‘families package’.
AAP/Paul Miller
Many of the Productivity Commission’s proposals derive from assumptions that the funding of these services should ensure minimal interference, with a classic, market-based model for meeting “demand”.
Sharing stories around the dinner table fosters greater self-esteem and resilience in young people.
Howard Chalkley
Families and friends share memories all the time; “You’ll never guess…”, “How was your day?”, and “Do you remember when…” are rich daily fodder. Sharing memories is not only a good way to debrief and reminisce…
Research shows children in early learning benefit from having a stable relationship with one teacher, but with 180 qualified early learning teachers leaving every week, that can be difficult to maintain.
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Last year in an open letter to the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, early childhood employers and peak bodies joined forces to ask for a commitment to early learning. They warned the political…
Giving today’s kids a flying start with early education will be crucial to helping them fill the gap left behind by retiring Baby Boomers.
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The problem with Australia’s population ageing is not that there are too many older people – it’s that there are not enough young people to support them. That presents many challenges to Australia’s continued…
Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion with students in the Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory. Research shows acting on overcrowded housing could greatly improve Indigenous kids’ school attendance in remote communities.
AAP/Neda Vanovac
Tony Abbott is spending this week in North East Arnhem Land, part of his long-held hope “to be not just the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs”. We asked our experts: what stories…
Grandpa, I want to touch the Dalek!
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As the school summer holidays beckon, families will be seeking out places to visit with their children, including museums, art galleries and science centres. It may be a way of keeping older children occupied…
A recent report from the Sutton Trust is the latest in a line of recommendations for family policy to focus on promoting secure attachment between parents and their children. What puzzles me is why the…
Forget the daily grunt… can we learn more vocab today?
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Every few months a story appears about the declining speech and language skills of children arriving in primary school. The epithet “the daily grunt” was invented by one newspaper to capture the lack of…
Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary
Adjunct Professor, Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at Ontario Institute for the Study of Education (OISE) and Senior Policy Fellow at the Atkinson Centre, University of Toronto