Released November 2, 2009
URBANA, Ill. - Want evidence that the early childhood years are critical to a child's educational success and long-term prospects? Just look at the results of a 40-year study of low-income, at-risk children that compared kids who attended a quality preschool with those who didn't, said University of Illinois President B. Joseph White in this fall's U of I Pampered Chef® Family Resiliency lecture.
"This study shows that the single biggest thing we can do to support teachers, improve schools, and strengthen the educational pipeline is to deliver kids to kindergarten, first, and second grade who are good to go, ready to learn," he said.
The HighScope Perry Preschool Study showed that two-thirds of the children attending high-quality preschool had an IQ of 90 or higher at age 5, compared with 28 percent in the group that did not. Almost half of the preschool children met basic reading and math requirements at age 14 compared with 15 percent in the other group.
At age 40, participants in the quality preschool program were more likely to have graduated from high school, to hold a job, have higher earnings, own their home, have savings accounts, and raise their own children. They had also been arrested far fewer times.
The study documented a return to society of $16 for every tax dollar invested in the early care and education program, he said.
"Quality preschool works," he said. "Preschool programs have far higher rates of return than either regular schooling or on-the-job training. Prevention is a lot smarter and cheaper than letting problems occur and trying to find and fix them later."
That's important because each rung on the education ladder represents an improved quality of life. "The higher your level of education, the more likely you are to be employed, earn a higher income, vote, volunteer, give blood, exercise, report better health, and have children with higher educational achievement," he said.
Alarmed by trends that show the United States has fallen to tenth place in the percentage of college graduates ages 25 to 34, White urged educators and families to take action.
Childhood health
The path to college begins before birth, he noted. "For example, folic acid before and during pregnancy reduces neural tube defects by 70 percent, which makes a huge difference in a child's ability to learn and function. Because we don't have adequate prenatal care for all expectant mothers, a lot of pregnancies are not what they should be," he said.
And, although childhood health affects the ability to grow, learn, and develop properly, obesity rates have been rising in two- to five-year-olds from 5 percent in 1980 to 12 percent this decade, he said.
"Obesity in children can result in stunted hip and leg-bone growth--that's an immediate effect. Other effects are lifelong. Obese children are more likely to be overweight later in life and at greater risk for diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. There may also be mental health issues," he said.
He noted the benefits of breastfeeding in helping children maintain a healthy weight as they grow older and said that enrollment in Head Start has been shown to reduce the probability of being overweight later in childhood.
Exercise, play and family mealtimes
He also emphasized the importance of exercise, play, and family mealtimes. "In a study of 11,000 eight- and nine-year-olds, 30 percent had no daily recess. Forty percent of schools had cut back at least one recess a day--even though children who have more than 15 minutes of recess a day demonstrate better behavior in class," he said.
"And toddlers who eat family meals display remarkable language development. Of 2,000 new words gained, 1,000 were traced to involvement in family mealtimes. Teens who eat family meals are five times less likely to engage in risky behaviors than teens who don't," he said.
Parents should also limit television viewing, read and talk to their children, make sure their kids get enough sleep, and set healthy boundaries for their youngsters.
"The most important thing we can do for our children and grandchildren is get them off to a strong start," he said.
The lecture was sponsored by The Pampered Chef® Family Resiliency Program, a partnership between The Pampered Chef® and the Department of Human and Community Development at the University of Illinois. Doris Kelley Christopher, a University of Illinois alum, is the founder and chairman of The Pampered Chef®, the largest direct seller of high-quality kitchen tools and part of the Berkshire-Hathaway family of businesses.
White's speech and three presentations from the Illinois Summit on Early Childhood and Healthy Beginnings will soon be available at http://frc.illinois.edu/Summit/ .
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http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/news/stories/news4935.html
Source: Barbara Fiese, (217) 333-9077, bhfiese@illinois.edu
Contact: Phyllis Picklesimer, (217) 244-2827, p-pickle@uiuc.edu
