Last week the Princess of Wales launched her new project: ‘Shaping Us’, a campaign to raise awareness of the importance of our early childhood experiences. It looks at how our early childhood, from pregnancy to five, shapes the adults that we become.
The Public Perceptions Survey 2022, commissioned by the Centre for Early Childhood, found that while 91% of those surveyed agreed that the early years are important in shaping an individual’s future. Only 17% recognised the particular importance of the period from pregnancy until five years old. In fact, 36% of adults reported not knowing anything, or just a little, about children’s development in this period.
In summary, by five years of age our brains are already 90% of adult size. During our first five years neural connections in the brain are shaped by our genes and our environment, including social connections. Social connections feed the development of our sensory and motor systems, our language and cognitive skills which all influence the adults we become.
Whilst awareness is clearly needed it could be argued that action and investment is what is really important. Critics have already pointed out that initiatives such as the Princess of Wales is calling for, have existed previously but have been cut. One such initiative was Sure Start, launched in 1998 with the aim of ‘giving children the best possible start in life’, but which in recent years has had hundreds of its centres closed.
If it was the cost of such initiatives that was the reason for their closure this is put into question when the London School of Economics calculates the ‘cost of lost opportunity in childhood’ to be £16.13 billion each year in England. This is the cost to society of the remedial action required to address issues which may have been avoided through action in early childhood, such as the cost of children in care and mental and physical health care.
Yet, awareness is perhaps a good start which will hopefully lead to change and this is exactly what the Centre of Early Childhood hopes to achieve – ‘sustainable change’ through collaboration across the private, public and voluntary sector. Further, there is a difference between the Sure Start initiative in particular and the aims of ‘Shaping Us’. Whilst Sure Start was aimed at families in most need, ‘Shaping Us’ is for everyone, highlighting that there are things that all parents can do which are good for children.
To talk about this campaign, get in touch with Hannah please contact her on 0161 694 4145 or email hwilliams@bromleys.co.uk.