For our Babies: Ending the Invisible Neglect of America’s Infants is a new book by J. Ronald Lally, Co-Director of the Center for Child & Family Studies at WestEd in Sausolito, California. The book is a clarion call to reform current policies and practices to protect and nurture babies in ways that increase their chances for healthy development. For Our Babies: Ending the invisible Neglect of America’s Infants:
- Describes how current policies are failing infants and toddlersIncludes testimony from developmental psychologists, child care providers, and health and mental health professionals
- Includes testimony from developmental psychologists, child care providers, and health and mental health professionals
- Shares the hopes, worries, and frustrations of American parents
- Provides recommended supports and services as well as economic justification for investing early
“This book will bring to light the harmful aspects of America’s treatment of its babies that have been invisible to most of us. It will share research about recently discovered sensitive periods in infant development, during which particular environments and experiences are needed to prevent developmental damage. It will present the current realities American families face with negotiating pregnancy, dealing with delivery, and handling care at home during the earliest months, and searching for and securing out-ofhome child care. It will share the words of parents who are desperately trying to patch together services so that their children won’t be damaged by their absence during critical bonding times or receive low-quality care. It will show how the informal supports (e.g. availability of extended family, one parent at home) that many families of the past relied upon when raising children have disappeared and how the United States, unlike many other countries, has not developed formal supports in their place. It will present the work of distinguished economists that shows how attending to early development can actually save the country money.” –From the Preface by J. Ronald Lally
This book is part of the For Our Babies initiative. Visit the website, which includes an author blog,
For Our Babies | Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ForOurBabies
Authors
Weatherston, Julie,
USA
