7 lessons for helping kids succeed: Our View

The first years of a child's life are formative, and getting it right — giving them the emotional support, learning, nutrition and care they need — is among the most important things we can do to ensure the future success of our region, our state, our country. The neural pathways developed in a child's brain in her first four years of life will be the template for all of what comes after.

There are, of course, ways for any of us to re-learn patterns of thought that have become ingrained. But starting kids out right is better in every way than trying to address problems that arise later in life. It's cheaper, more effective and more humane if we work to ensure that kids, especially the youngest children, get what they need from the time they're born.

Throughout the summer, Daily Herald Media has featured weekly video interviews with experts on a range of early childhood issues. Our "Building Blocks" series has brought a focus on what kids need and the role we all play in building a stronger community.

The video series is completed, but "Building Blocks" will continue as a topic focus for us. And we want to hear from you. What questions do you still have about parenting, or about supporting good parenting? How can we continue to advance the cause of caring for our youngest kids?

Here's some of what we've learned so far:

• 1. Emotional bonding has physical effects. The images are striking and extreme: A scan of a normal child's brain compared with the brain of a child raised in emotional neglect in a Romanian orphanage. The child who lacked emotional bonding and support has less brain activity and a physically shriveled and shrunken brain — not from malnutrition or any physical problem; only from lack of emotional support. For young, growing kids, feelings are not just feelings. Emotional security is inextricably linked to healthy growth.

• 2. Early intervention and education have long-term payoffs. Art Rolnick, a former Federal Reserve economist from Minnesota, testified in July to a legislative committee in Madison that long-term studies of children who received Head Start education services — looking at three decades or more of life outcomes — found that their adult lives were remarkably better than those who did not have the benefit of early childhood classes. Head Start kids ended up more likely to be employed, less likely to be in jail, less likely to be receiving welfare or other government assistance and more likely to be married. And there is evidence, Rolnick added, that the outcomes are even more stark when programs are offered to parents from birth.

WATCH: See all the interviews in our "Building Blocks" series here

SPECIAL SECTION:Click here for all "Building Blocks" content

• 3. Marathon County's Start Right program is a model. Start Right provides coaching for new parents and connects them to services critical to family success — from breastfeeding consultations to more serious interventions like connections to a domestic abuse shelter, drug or alcohol treatment, or affordable housing. Some other counties offer home-visiting programs; none has the comprehensive program Marathon County has. By providing these families with education and support, Start Right serves to prevent some children from falling through the cracks — and it allows the parents, who often have multiple stresses in their lives, to start to build a life that provides a safe place for their children.

• 4. Speaking to your child is vital. The "language gap" is real and it is alarming. A landmark study from nearly two decades ago was bolstered by a new study released last fall showing that the children of wealthier parents hear millions more words in their first years than do the children from poor households. This finding, that poorer kids get to have dramatically fewer conversations than do wealthy kids with their parents and those around them, is troubling and even a bit hard to understand. It has serious effects. Children of poorer households are less likely to start school with the same verbal readiness as those from richer households. This creates a language gap that can be hard to make up. Take every opportunity possible to speak to your child — even if your child can't yet speak.

• 5. Businesses can support early childhood. The major way businesses can ensure that their employees' children succeed is through flexible schedules that allow a parent to adapt to a child's schedule, perhaps for child care or health care needs. But there is a broader role for businesses in communicating to their employees — not to mention state and federal lawmakers — the importance of sound family policies.

• 6. Day-care quality matters. The state's rating system, Youngstar, is an important tool for parents trying to learn more about the best child care providers for them. But according to Kelly Borchardt of Childcaring Inc., most parents are concerned mainly with two things: cost and location. While we all can understand why those two factors are the top practical considerations, we need parents to take an active role in asking questions about the quality of the education and the variety of activities offered at their childrens' day care, too.

• 7. Early childhood education is economic development. Wisconsin's workforce is aging. The children who are receiving day care today are the workers of tomorrow — and that workforce will have to become ever more efficient if our state is to succeed. It is in Wisconsin's long-term economic interest to ensure that kids are getting the right kind of start, and that they are learning "soft skills" and the ability to be part of a team.

WATCH: See all the interviews in our "Building Blocks" series here

SPECIAL SECTION:Click here for all "Building Blocks" content