What are the basics of care and support that all young children need to thrive?
Children simultaneously need four areas addressed: Health and safety…Daily stimulation of language and basic cognitive function, what we call language and learning…They also need to have responsive care that gets adapted for their age and individuality that will promote social and emotional growth and development. The fourth and final, and it’s becoming more complex to meet this, is that the family…needs to really be in productive, effective partnerships with all the other people touching that child’s life on a regular basis. The health care providers and the teachers need to be working collectively with the family. In a world where the demography is changing, there’s lot of mobility, and people don’t even have a common language sometimes, much less common values…that communication can be a very big deal. Can you describe some of the major challenges confronting American families in terms of early child care and support? American families as a whole actually still continue to be
