Early Childhood Development

The challenge

Latin America does not invest enough in programs for children ages 3 to 6, providing physical, educational, social, emotional, and nutritional stimuli to prepare them for primary school.

Children who receive comprehensive care in the first years of their life are healthier, learn more quickly, get better grades in school, stay in school longer, and in the long-term, get better jobs and are more productive.

Children should attend the programs from a very young age, since as the years go by, weaknesses and deficiencies get worse and multiply. The more a child grows, the harder it will be to compensate for the lack of stimulus, and their problems in learning and understanding will continue to get worse.

The family plays a critical role in developing children’s abilities. Studies show that children whose parents also received care develop better skills. Nevertheless, there is still a great deal of ignorance and a lack of information among parents regarding the benefits of early childhood development.