Early Life

This television-based initiative explores the lives and experiences of young children and their families on 4 different continents. It is based on the premise that the early foundations for learning, physical and mental health, and behavioural regulation are built in early childhood. As scientists whose theories and findings are woven into the vignettes in the series argue, the latest neuroscience research confirms that vital foundations are built on interaction with caregivers, and that communication is crucial to the development of infant brains. However, there are also questions and controversies, highlighted in the series: "scientists argue over the evidence, educators worry cash will be diverted from more urgent needs, and some experts even claim the West is trying to 'globalize childhood.'"

TVE's Lifeonline website provides access to transcripts and video clips from each part of the series, as well as links to related online resources for those interested in learning more about the issues. Namely,

• "My First Day at School" follows 3 children preparing to enter primary school in Chiang Mai, Thailand. "Child rights might have guaranteed Tha Na Korn [one of the children featured] local schooling. But many experts who say culture should guide early child development don't like talk of 'child rights'. They say it could lead to the West imposing its own views of childhood on the world."
• "Kibera Kids" explores the lives of four 4-year-old children in the sub-Saharan Africa slum, where the death rate for under-5-year-olds is 3 times Nairobi's as a whole. "Even before they go to school here, children must run the gauntlet of Kibera's crazy and even violent street life. Scientists warn that stress can raise levels of the hormone cortisol, permanently altering the architecture of young brains. But while stress can be a problem, so can too little stimulation....The adults of Kibera are working hard to offer kids a safe and stimulating haven in pre-schools....Should it reflect traditional African social values, or the West's more individualistic outlook?..."
• Viewers of "The Mayor's Dream" visited the Andes, where Mayor Amilcar Huancahuari Tueros explains how he became convinced that helping kids to a better start can secure a less troubled future. He believes that stimulating kids' brains early on can make for a more prosperous, and less violent, society. The show visits the laboratories of Harvard University in the United States, where researchers are trying to determine whether science really is on the Mayor's side.

Early Childhood Development.