Young children experience wide-ranging negative consequences from severe deprivation or neglect, including delays in cognitive and social-emotional development, and disruptions of the body’s stress response. Says Jack Shonkoff, director of the Harvard Center on the Developing Child: “Neglecting young children is neglecting the foundations of a healthy next generation. The community pays a huge price later in terms of the problems of the next generation, whether it be educational achievement, economic productivity, good citizenship, or the ability to parent the next generation.”
This brief video explains why neglect is so harmful and how effective interventions can change a child’s trajectory in their ability to learn in school and beyond. Please take a moment to watch it.
