The mission of the Center on the Developing Child is to leverage the power of science in pursuit of better, more equitable outcomes for young children facing adversity.
Browse the content below to learn more about six key scientific concepts related to early childhood development.
Founded in 2006, the mission of the Center on the Developing Child is to leverage the power of science in pursuit of better, more equitable outcomes for young children facing adversity. Through two decades of synthesizing and communicating knowledge from across disciplines, the Center has played a major role in shaping the way the public understands and thinks about early childhood development, thereby informing how we support children and their caregivers through science-informed policy and practice. Center Founding Director Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D., now leads the Connecting Science + Community initiative.
When it comes to early childhood development, a wide array of conditions in the places where children live, grow, play, and learn shapes their development and lays the foundations for lifelong health and well-being. We have long known that a child’s environment of relationships, including responsive serve and return interactions with caregivers, plays a critical role in the development of brain architecture and can help buffer against sources of stress and adversity. Emerging science makes it increasingly clear that we must also expand our lens to consider influences from the broader environment, including the many ways that children have access to opportunities or are exposed to hazards in their built and natural environments and how such influences shape the development of all biological systems.