Give first 5 years more priority

Dana Friedman is president of the Early Years Institute, a nonprofit educational and advocacy organization based in Plainview.

Ninety percent of brain development happens during a child's first five years. But, surprisingly, only 16 percent of Long Islanders believe that these early years should get top priority in education funding. Shouldn't we be providing more resources to parents of preschoolers and early childhood programs?

The 16 percent statistic comes from a poll conducted this past fall for The Early Years Institute by the Stony Brook University Center for Survey Research. The majority of 807 residents surveyed - 63 percent - believe that priority should be given to kids already in school. But after 30 years of reforming K-12, our world rankings have dropped to never-before seen levels: America's 15-year-olds are 17th in the world in reading, 23rd in science and 31st in math, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment.

This is at least partially because there is one area of reform that has been largely overlooked: Educators, policy-makers and the public seem to have forgotten that education begins before school. Children are born learning. And when they have ample opportunities to learn in language-rich homes and high-quality early childhood programs, research consistently demonstrates that they do better in school, need less remedial education, are not as trouble-prone, and are more likely to have productive lives.

Another success factor is whether children have adequate social skills and emotional maturity. Children today are less likely to cultivate these skills because their lives are more structured and scheduled, with too many hours spent alone in front of a TV or computer screen.

While technology can be an extraordinary tool, recent research raises concerns. Consider that 40 percent of 3-month-old infants are regular viewers of screen media and 19 percent of babies one year and younger have a TV in their bedrooms, even while the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for children younger than 2 years. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that 8- to 18-year-olds now use screen media 7.5 hours per day.

A majority of those surveyed recognize the problem; A greater number thought it was bad (49 percent), as opposed to good (28 percent), for children to spend increased time using computers and other electronic devices. Yet slightly more parents of preschoolers thought that it was good (40 percent) rather than bad (36 percent) for children to use more screen media.

Almost two-thirds of Long Islanders acknowledge the importance of social skills in preparing for kindergarten. But parents of preschoolers are less likely than parents of older children to support social priorities, emphasizing instead the need to know letters and numbers. Both academic and social skills are important, but children won't learn their numbers and letters when they are unable to get along with other children.

So why would most Long Islanders still rather see their tax money spent on older kids? How do we promote the message that providing high-quality early care and education greatly improves the learning and development of young children, with lasting effects that result in higher achievement in the middle childhood years, high school and after graduation?

If we can ever hope to see increased investments in young children, we need a chorus of the community - including pediatricians, librarians, superintendents, early childhood educators, clergy, business leaders, environmentalists and parents - all to discuss the importance of refocusing our priorities. If we're successful, future surveys asking about investments in young children will show more of us believing that the earliest years truly impact success, in school and life.