Early Childhood Education

It’s a proven fact that the mere presence of babies can turn normal, functioning adults into blabbering idiots who suddenly feel the need to gesticulate wildly and constantly shift voice intonation while describing something as simple as “that big doggy over there!” But new research suggests that exactly what we blabber may be influenced by the sex of the young child we’re blabbering at – details that could have a long-term impact on child development.

In a new study at the University of Delaware, researchers found that parents talk about “number concepts” twice as much to male toddlers as to female toddlers. According to the study: “For cardinal-numbers speech, in which a number is attached to an obvious noun reference — ‘Here are five raisins’ or ‘Look at those two beds’ — the difference was even larger. Mothers were three times more likely to use such formulations while talking to boys.”

The study was based on observations of parents speaking to their children aged between 22 and 27 months, meaning that girls may be exposed to less math than are boys before they are even able to count to “ten” – imagine the size of the gap that exists by the time they are eighteen and signing up for Calculus! Read more »

Many parents take whatever work they can find, no matter what the hours, particularly in today’s economy. As a result, a significant proportion of parents—especially parents in low-wage jobs—are now working evening, night, and weekend hours. These parents need reliable care for their children during these hours, but this is typically hard to find. However, there are some signs that the market may be starting to respond to this growing need, with an increasing number of centers operating during nontraditional hours, according to an article this week in the New York Times.

The article describes the juggling act that a number of parents must do as they try to keep their jobs—as waitresses, cooks, and nursing home employees and doing other work involving late-night and early-morning hours. They have some misgivings about having their children cared for out of the home overnight, but are reassured when they find child care centers or other arrangements providing reliable, good-quality care during nontraditional hours. Read more »

As 2012 begins, states are continuing to make, or propose, cuts to child care. Maryland’s waiting list for child care assistance, started last year, has grown to over 14,000 children. California’s governor has proposed to reduce spending for child care and early education by $517 million, which would deprive 62,000 children of the opportunity to participate in these programs. Washington’s governor has proposed to cut funding for child care assistance by $50 million, which would result in 4,000 fewer children receiving help.

A CNN story aired this weekend demonstrates what these cuts mean for parents who need help affording child care so they can hold onto their jobs and make sure their children are in care that nurtures their growth and learning. Read more »

Last week the winners of the first round of the Early Learning Challenge grant competition were announced.

The 9 states selected to receive the grant awards (California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Washington) have laid out comprehensive, collaborative strategies to achieve stronger early learning systems that increase low-income children’s access to high-quality early care and education.

We hope that the states’ efforts will include steps to address continuing gaps in their child care assistance policies. Because according to our analysis of data from our recent report, many of these states are falling short in providing the help low-income families need to afford reliable, high-quality care. Be sure to check out the highlights of our analysis here! Read more »