Background on School Readiness

Research tells us that babies are born learning, that the first years of a child’s life are a crucial time of brain development, and that experiences in the early years set the stage for a child’s future. Infants and young children are developing at a greater pace than at any other time in life. The nurturing a child receives and the learning that occurs in the first few years shape that child’s continuing ability to learn, relate to others, and thrive.

“The astonishing developmental achievements of the earliest years occur naturally when parents and other caregivers talk, read, and play with young children and respond sensitively to their cues,” says the report From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Children who enter kindergarten prepared to succeed tend to do well throughout their school careers, whereas children who are not ready are more likely to fail or repeat grades, need special support, or drop out.

Strong attachment and bonds between parent and child play a critical role in early learning and development. Nurturing, cuddling and playing with a baby are activities that help lay a foundation for language and social skills. Studies show that a child who is rarely spoken to or read to may have trouble mastering language skills. Similarly, a child who is rarely played with may have difficulty with social adjustment.

While positive nurturing relationships can come naturally, parents and caregivers of young children who are equipped with supportive resources, knowledge and strategies can do an even better job of providing critical early nurturing to bolster children’s social, emotional, physical and cognitive development in the first months and years of life. Parents and caregivers need to be offered a variety of ways to access information about early development: formal and informal, “hands-on” and classroom-based, from their peers and from professionals, in the workplace, at community-based organizations, and in the other places they find themselves in their daily lives.

While most children enjoy stable and loving relationships with their parents and other caregivers, a significant number do not. Young children often face barriers to their early social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development due to poverty, racism, family violence or trauma, abuse or neglect, language and cultural barriers, family mental health issues, developmental disabilities or delays, or the absence of consistent or competent caregivers.