What is the Baby’s

What is the Baby’s First Years causal study trying to determine?

The Baby’s First Years causal study is trying to test whether poverty reduction causes changes in children brain development or if the change in children brain development causes poverty reduction. This study will determine how their cognitive, language and socio-emotional development is impacted by a program that provides social support and resources.

What are they trying to understand?

They are trying to understand how poverty is collated with child development. This study shows that there is an inherent relationship between income, educational attainment, family income, socioeconomic status and brain development. The study identifies a link between knowledge of being poor and having an accelerated developmental mind. This idea is interesting because it brings up some good questions about what goes into the equation for children’s ability to acquire new skills or knowledge and how to impact them at a young age with education or other means of teaching kids.

What is the study trying to produce?

From the results of Baby’s First Years causal study, they are hoping to initiate debates about social services that has the potential to affect millions of families with young children. If their hypothesis is true that income indeed affects child’s development, various strategies and policies can be initiated that will serve to enhance this child’s brain development. The study was designed to focus on children living in poverty since they were deemed to be the most vulnerable population.

Dig Deeper

Why is the information learned from this study important?

The key information learned from this study is about the types of experiences that we believe may be able to be targeted to promote children’s brain development and ultimately improve their learning outcomes. And, this information is important because we are far from having the ability or tools to have a major impact on life outcomes for children from the developing world. Because the role of early-life experiences has been so poorly understood, and because the findings in this study are consistent with those in previous research and clinical trial data, it is worth paying attention to this link. The earlier a child experiences poverty, social problems and other challenges, the worse their cognitive and educational outcomes will be. Growing up in poverty is associated with a host of different experiences and that these experiences in turn may work together to help shape brain development and ultimately help children learn.

How can this information be used to enhance family economic stability and well-being?

Information from this study can be applied to improve family economic stability and well-being through the general reduction of poverty in the society. Since the study is seeking to ensure that a young child born into poverty today may have a much better shot at a brighter future, it is important to look at all of the stages in a child’s development, not just at the beginning or the end. The study highlights three areas of concern: The first and foremost is poverty, which can impede a child’s educational and cognitive development. Second, early markers of mental decline are already apparent in children from low-income families. Third, low income among individuals within a family system can increase stress and strain on health care providers. Poverty does not only affect young children; it also affects the entire family system.

Reference: https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberly_noble_how_does_income_affect_childhood_brain_development