TKW Consulting

This editorial published in the Winona Daily News (Winona, Minnesota) again discusses the need to invest in early childhood learning...

Can you imagine a child starting to count using the number four, all the while oblivious to the fact that
one, two and three come before it?

Of course not. That’s just silly.

But that’s exactly what happens when we don’t work on solutions for early childhood care. Never underestimate the importance of a solid foundation. For children, they must naturally begin at the beginning, so to speak. For many children, that beginning is at a daycare center or maybe through early childhood programs.

What we know is that generally children in quality day cares perform better. Putting money into early childhood programs saves money in the long run. One study suggested every $1 put into early childhood saves $17 later.

We also understand we have an obligation to the next generation. And we know that parents who aren’t distracted when they are worried about their children have to be happier in the workplace.

What we don’t know is how to clear some of the obstacles that make day care so expensive. Maybe that’s because raising children is so expensive and probably not something done well on the cheap. And it’s hard for us to see what might have happened to the children who are positively affected by early childhood programs if those programs didn’t exist.

Read the full opinion piece. I fully agree with this quote: "Education begins much earlier — at places such as day care centers and with day care providers."

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 7:57 PM