Letters: Investing in Early Childhood Now, for a Payoff Later

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In "Lifelines for Poor Children" ("The Great Divide" series, Sunday Review, Sept. 15), the Nobel laureate James J. Heckman makes a powerful case for investing in early childhood initiatives to prevent more costly, invasive interventions later in life.

The chronic stress that often comes with poverty can derail young children's development. In a soon-to-be-released report on New York City's youngest residents, we found that programs that engage parents as partners in their children's treatment provide some of the most effective measures for buffering the toxic effects of poverty, trauma and chronic stress on babies and toddlers.

But in New York City, government financing for early childhood mental health treatment is sorely lacking. One analysis estimates that in three New York City boroughs, state-licensed mental health clinics had treatment spots for only 1 percent of children up to 4 years of age who need them.

We are missing the opportunity to help children before their needs and symptoms compound.

KENDRA HURLEY
Brooklyn, Sept. 16, 2013

The writer is senior editor at the Center for New York City Affairs, the New School.

To the Editor:

James J. Heckman suggests that "unfounded doubt and fear of doing things differently" are the primary deterrents to radical change in our investment in early childhood education.

The neuroscience of early childhood development, however, suggests another factor: old brains. It is far more difficult for a member of Congress to integrate new ways of thinking and doing than it is to effect positive transformation in the very young children whose futures are dependent on our representatives' votes.

While neuroplasticity, the capacity for neurologic growth, is present throughout our lives, it falls off dramatically after the age of 5. It is challenging to learn empathy and compassion as an adult. These are critical emotional ingredients for a well-warranted recipe that would combine established science with humanity to bring about powerful policy and societal change.

RONNIE S. STANGLER
New York, Sept. 16, 2013

The writer is a clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington.

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