Early childhood obesity is a major U.S. public health problem, afflicting children from low-income and minority families in rural areas disproportionately with an increased risk for long-term health disparities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Strong social-emotional skills have been found to impact children’s development and later success.
Research also shows children exposed to adverse experiences — maternal depression, poverty, parental substance use, physical abuse and neglect — are at risk for having lower social-emotional functioning compared to their peers.
While great efforts are made to improve children’s well-being in childcare environments, far less attention is paid to caregivers’ well-being. Evidence shows compassion- and mindfulness-based programs and strategies enhance both caregiver and child well-being, which may reduce burnout, stress and depression — and lead to children receiving more sensitive and responsive care.
Efforts to help vulnerable communities is most effective when it actively engages community members, agencies and other stakeholders in solving complex social problems.
In many parts of Brazil, communities must find their own ways to address the needs of children and families with limited resources. Those needs have intensified since early 2020, as COVID-19 quickly spread throughout the country.
Throughout the United States, the number of teachers qualified to support students with special needs is declining. In Nebraska, school leaders are concerned the shortage of special education teachers will put these students at risk for compromised learning and growth.
Searching for the right health care resources — and the most efficient way to access them — can be overwhelming.
For families seeking health care for young children, the task can be even more daunting.
Early childhood health systems are often complex, siloed and disconnected, which leads to inadequate supports and services for families.
As the COVID-19 epidemic escalated to a pandemic in early 2020, millions of Americans began working from home — and millions of students left their classrooms to continue their studies remotely.
In March 2020, all 983 Nebraska public schools sat vacant, and all the state’s 330,000 children from pre-kindergarten to grade 12 were learning in out-of-classroom environments.
Each year, approximately 7 million U.S. students receive special education services. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 25% of those students have an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD) such as challenges with adaptive functioning, intelligence or conditions such as Down syndrome or autism spectrum disorder.
