Culture of Health Blog

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Sesame Workshop share a common vision of giving all children—especially the most vulnerable among us—a strong and healthy start in life. We know that childhood experiences lay the foundation for children to grow into productive and successful adults, and promoting healthy behaviors and supporting families from the very beginning can help kids thrive. But it’s equally important to address challenges that can undermine their healthy development.

Tools to Help Families Cope

That’s why we are proud to announce Sesame Workshop’s first-ever comprehensive initiative to help children cope with traumatic experiences. Research tells us that kids who experience trauma—like physical abuse, neglect, divorce, experiencing natural disasters, or witnessing violent acts—are more likely to face serious health issues as an adult. The groundbreaking Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study found as the number of “ACEs” increase for a child, so does the risk for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, as well as alcohol abuse and drug use, obesity, and depression. According to new data, nearly half of children under 18 living in the United States have experienced at least one ACE. And it starts at a young age. Among children under five, 35 percent have experienced at least one ACE, and 12 percent have experienced at least two.

Did you know that more than one million new neural connections form every second in the first few years of a child’s life? The science is clear. Our brains grow faster from birth to age three than at any other later point in our lives. A baby’s early experiences and relationships stimulate these neural connections, laying the foundation for emotions, language, behavior, memory, physical movement and more.

That’s some serious brain growth, and a serious task for new parents. Anyone who knows or is already a parent will tell you that nobody does it alone. All families need support in order spend quality time with their babies and surround them with caring relationships and early experiences that will help them thrive in childhood—and for a lifetime.

That’s why ZERO TO THREE and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) launched the Think Babies campaign to help families let policymakers know that the healthy development of infants and toddlers should be a national priority.

I remember how it felt when I returned to work after the birth of my first son. Trying to figure out child care was confusing, overwhelming, and downright stressful. Of course I wanted the very best care for my baby, but I didn’t know what “high quality” really looked like. Our first arrangement was with a nearby woman who cared for a few other children in her home. Pretty quickly, I decided it wasn’t the right fit. I cobbled together a mix of family and part-time care while searching for a new solution. I am so grateful I had friends, family, and a supportive work environment to pull this off. I then tried in-home care, hiring a string of visiting nannies, none of which worked out. One of them quit with no notice, leaving me in a very difficult position at work.

Then I found what seemed like a great center-based program, and was prepared to sign up. But as I left the building after my initial visit, I bumped into a friend who had a bad experience there and advised looking elsewhere. What if she was right? I couldn’t take the chance, so I kept searching, relying on the generosity of family in the meantime.

Eventually I found a center that worked out. I felt my baby was nurtured and well-cared for, but the costs were enormous, and frankly, to this day I am still not sure if it was truly “high quality.”

A poll released by NPR, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health finds that parents and caregivers, like me, recognize the value of high quality child care and early education experiences.

We’re all well aware that education leads to better jobs and higher income. Just as important, research also links education to reduced risk of illness, increased vitality, longevity and academic success that extends to future generations.

That’s why the situation for schools in Lawrence, Mass., was particularly concerning back in 2010. At the time, more than one out of every four Lawrence kids dropped out of high school. This led the Massachusetts Department of Education to put Lawrence’s schools into receivership by 2012, placing them under new management to safeguard state assets. The state-appointed “receiver,” was granted authority to develop an intervention plan to overhaul the schools through steps you might expect such as expanding the school day and replacing half the districts’ principals.

But the district also took one critical step by acknowledging that a family’s financial stability strongly influences how well children do in school—and whether they drop out.

My sister, Katy, and I grew up in a family of teachers. My mother, my father and my aunt all dedicated themselves to educating, inspiring, encouraging and supporting each student who came through their classrooms. While I chose to go into public health, Katy followed in their footsteps and is a fifth-grade teacher. Many of her students experience challenges at home that no child should have to face. So in order for her students to be engaged in learning, not only does she need to know her lesson plans, she also needs to know whether a student has eaten breakfast that day or is suffering from trauma that’s gone untreated. When a student acts out, she needs to understand what underlying issues are causing them to behave that way. She’s seen first-hand how difficult it is for her students to learn when many of their needs go unaddressed. And every day, I can see how the work we’re each doing in our respective fields intersects.

As the research shows, your education has far-reaching implications for your health. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to live a longer, healthier life. Now, more than ever, having a high school diploma can predict your likelihood of having diabetes, heart conditions or other diseases. And across racial and ethnic groups, life expectancy improves with increasing years of education.

As I was thinking about writing this blog, I did what I typically do when I need some insight—I asked my kids for help. I asked my 7-year-old son what he thought about sharing. He said, “Sharing is the nice thing to do. You should share your things with your little brother or sister.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because it makes you feel good and they might just share back with you too.”

So simple, right? And so hard to teach at times!

As a busy working mom of two young children, my days are filled with helping my kids learn how to get along in the world. From learning to feed and dress themselves, to learning how to get along with others and how to recognize and deal positively with their emotions. It’s a job I wouldn’t trade for the world! And it is also one that can be daunting at times, requiring the utmost patience and perseverance. Some days I wonder if I am doing all I can to help them grow up healthy and I know many parents feel the same way.

The good news is that today, more than ever, we have incredible insight into what parents, caregivers, and teachers can do to ensure that children grow up healthy. We now know that what was once thought of as “nice” skills to have, like being a good sharer and empathetic, are actually critical to life long health, happiness, and success.

In a newly released study in the American Journal of Public Health, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, researchers found that the social skills a child exhibits in kindergarten were linked to their outcomes—both positive and negative—two decades later in early adulthood.

New findings strongly suggest that Americans are ready for new approaches to address early childhood trauma and stress. To do that in a big way, we need more than science—we need a movement.