Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University’s Post

This summer, it’s important to remember that excessive heat can impact young children’s development and health, both in the moment and across the lifespan. Implementing effective strategies to reduce exposure to extreme heat benefits children, families, and communities—now and in the future. Learn more in this report by the Center for American Progress: https://ampr.gs/3y5kjGA. Read “Extreme Heat Affects Early Childhood Development and Health,” referenced in this report, here: https://bit.ly/47qwzgf.

Friends! Check out our latest paper on the impact of extreme heat on young children. After a year of record-breaking heat waves across the globe, the Early Childhood Scientific Council on Equity and the Environment (ECSCEE) has released a paper on how extreme heat can impact young children’s development and health, both in the moment and across the lifespan. All children should have the opportunity to thrive, and the paper offers an opportunity to better understand how extreme heat affects children, along with practical, actionable strategies for policymakers and leaders looking for solutions to prevent or minimize these impacts. To learn more, read the paper here: https://lnkd.in/g3JBFFTr

A World of Differences: The Science of Human Variation Can Drive Early Childhood Policies and Programs to Bigger Impacts https://lnkd.in/dQiAsYX5

Thank you Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University for expanding all of your wonderful work on early childhood development to include the impacts of environment, systemic injustice and climate change. Among the powerful evidence amassed in this paper: "Multiple studies show that nearly all US neighborhoods that were subject to redlining are hotter today than non-redlined neighborhoods and have higher levels of air pollution. These neighborhoods also tend to have less access to ways of reducing children’s exposure to excessive heat due to systematic underinvestment in infrastructure and economic opportunities. For example, lower-income students are more likely to be in schools without adequate air conditioning than higher-income students, and Hispanic and Black households are less likely to have access to air conditioning compared to white households." https://lnkd.in/gPbHyTXs

This Inside Higher Ed article discusses the mental health challenges college students are facing as the 2024 presidential election approaches. Experts recommend strategies for support, including setting boundaries during political discussions and promoting healthy news consumption. https://ow.ly/hV4a50TBoaQ

https://lnkd.in/deu4ruau Extreme heat affects infants and young children more than most adults—and potential impacts on their health and development can be lifelong. Because all children should have the opportunity to thrive, it is critical that we understand how extreme heat affects children and then determine how best to take action.

New report with the Center for American Progress from Allie Schneider, Hailey Gibbs, Ph.D., Lisette Partelow, and myself out today! 2024 is on track to be the hottest year recorded in human history. While excessive heat is dangerous for everyone, children are particularly vulnerable to adverse impacts on their health, learning, and development. As students, parents, and schools prepare for the upcoming school year, mitigating exposure to extreme heat is top of mind. When students are exposed to extreme heat, school absences increase, engagement and achievement decrease, and disciplinary referrals become more common. These effects are worsened for students in the estimated 36,000 schools nationwide that are without adequate HVAC systems. It is time to take action to protect our most vulnerable groups. We recommend five key actions for policymakers to take: 🌡 The federal government should provide guidance on heat safety standards for children to make schools and child care facilities safe, healthy spaces 🌡 States should expand data collection to inform advocacy, funding, and infrastructure upgrades 🌡 Federal policymakers should include school and child care facility funding in future infrastructure and early learning bills 🌡 Federal and state agencies should support schools and child care programs in accessing resources to mitigate the impact of extreme heat 🌡 Policymakers should prioritize environmental justice by focusing funding and resources on the communities most affected by climate change Read more: https://lnkd.in/dfna2dgx

Richard Louv's book "Last Child in The Woods" is one of the books written on children in the recent era that cannot be ignored. Developmental scientists, therapists, researchers and institutions can beat around the bush so much when it comes to the state of modern children, "what ails them?" and many different offerings will be made from: technology, lack of movement, social pressures, bullying, poor diet, methods of parenting etc. These factors which ail our children are all relevant, but very few researchers or writers have brought it all together, connecting all of the moving pieces to an underlying lack of Nature. When we lack Nature connection, we become underdeveloped in nearly area of life. Treating our children with therapies, medication, team sports, tutoring or any other solution can only go so far when the connection to what makes us human (Nature) is disrupted in our lives. Richard Louv calls this disconnected state "Nature Deficit Disorder". Richard Louv in this inspirational book points directly at the deficit as the major underpinning source of so many of our modern problems - many of which we are now viewing the buds of in our children. What fruits will a society disconnected from Nature produce? The distilled solution? Connect to Nature in all ways possible. How do we do it? That's for us to find out and share what we find far and wide. Foundations like Life Rocks can assist us on the journey to connecting our children to Nature through interactive play and discovery but it is really the teachers, parents and mentors in this world that have the biggest influence on our children - so lets work together to usher in a brighter, more Nature connected future for our children! Thanks Richard Louv for tying all of this together so beautifully in this book. Highly recommended for a deeper dive into the vast importance of Nature as a fundamental nutrient in all beings lives. Life Rocks! https://lnkd.in/g9c6byKy #liferocks #childrensbooks #parenting #liferocks #childrensbooks #childrensday #childrensbook #childcare #runwildmychild #childhoodunplugged #childdevelopment #earthchild #earthchildren #toddleractivities #toddlerplayideas #toddlerplay #kidsactivities #parenting

Exposure to nature is known to improve people’s mental and physical health, but this study is about how being actively involved in a nature-based activity, such as birding, can have a more significant impact on well-being🦉. North Carolina State University professors Nils Peterson, Lincoln Larson, and Aaron Hipp, along with nine graduate students, including Sophia Torres, our creative content manager, conducted this study right on campus! Read the full article by clicking the link: https://lnkd.in/eTGb6VR2

KIDS COUNT data is out. The summary for NM is: 5️⃣0️⃣ th in overall child well-being 4️⃣8️⃣ th in economic well-being 5️⃣0️⃣ th in education 4️⃣4️⃣th in health 4️⃣9️⃣ th in family & community Here are a couple thoughts 💭... There’s lots of analysis to be done (we at NewMexicoKidsCAN will focus on the education piece, primarily). But here is what stuck out to me: Many say our education outcomes are a result of poverty, lack of access to resources, trauma, etc. Yes, those things have an impact. I’m not disputing that. But, look at Mississippi. Mississippi ranks below us (New Mexico) in EVERY MEASURE except education. In education, despite being 50th in nearly every other measure MISSISSIPPI RANKS 30th. So, my takeaway is IT IS POSSIBLE. It is not only possible, but also our collective responsibility to hold our education system to high standards. To demand better for our kids. And here’s the good news: we have schools and districts that are accomplishing this today! We'll keep highlighting the schools and districts that are beating the odds and changing lives - tune in to our podcast, New Mexico Rising to hear some of these stories (see the comments for some links to stories/episodes that highlight these successes). #nmleg #nmedu