Helping kids thrive is our collective responsibility

I recently read a thread online, containing months of scholarly query on the source of the quote: “It takes a village to raise a child.”
Though widely attributed as an ancient African proverb of Nigerian, Ethiopian or Zulu origin, the “village” truism may also have Native American roots stemming from the Siouan-speaking Omaha tribe, and seems to have entered popular culture in the late 1970s with community development work in Chicago. While I marveled at the cross-continental debate about the source of these powerful words, I am more curious than ever about their application in today’s blighted economy.
The immediate family remains the most powerful influence on a child, serving as her genetic and environmental foundation for success. For this reason, the conditions of families — individually and collectively — are paramount to our society’s future. The impact of family is particularly acute in the earliest years of a child’s life, when brain development is most rapid. Thus, we are wise to consider the standing of families with young children as we consider our nation’s potential to weather the current economic storm. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 43 percent of the nation’s children younger than 6 live in low-income families — those with incomes below twice the federal poverty level ($42,400 per year for a family of four in 2008). Chronic deprivation and resulting family stresses have been shown to have harmful long-term effects on the healthy brain development, school and life successes of our children.
Here in South Carolina, for example, four in 10 children with family incomes at or below 130 percent of poverty experience some form of early school failure by age 9.
Parental education has also been shown to have an effect on children’s development. Specific research points to the correlation between a mother’s educational level and the academic success of her child. Here in South Carolina, nearly one in four children is born to a mother with less than a high school diploma. According to recent analyses, nearly half (48 percent) of these children are failing by the third grade.
Clearly, today’s economic crisis can steepen these negative statistics and worsen the odds for our children. Thus, the increasing importance of the “village.” We know that young children are impacted positively by loving, lasting relationships — especially in the early years. When stresses at home may inhibit healthy, nurturing environments for some young children, we must look to the health of our communities. The 2009 Week of the Young Child (April 19-25) focuses national attention on “Bringing Communities Together for Children.” Of 354,000 South Carolina children younger 6, aabout 66 percent are in some form of non-maternal care during a portion of their day. Our children, in their most formative years, are positively affected by nurturing, quality interactions in child care settings, schools, churches, and neighborhoods.
Building rich environments which help young children thrive is our collective responsibility. It is not optional, nor is it terribly complicated or costly.
Providing safe, clean, and caring spaces for a young child to explore during everyday life can be as simple as pulling pots out of a drawer and sitting down together to talk about the noises they make. Finding baby birds and talking about how they grow or reading a book to learn about animals. Picking out colors on a landscape or in the laundry are “teachable moments” while doing chores. Singing silly songs and laughing together as your child adds his own verse or rhythm is developing his pre-literacy and math foundations. Most importantly, all these things are teaching your child — or your neighbor’s child — that you care about his or her well-being.
Like Kokou, the young boy in Jane Cowen-Fletcher’s, It Takes a Village (Trull Award, 1995), children have a natural curiosity to explore their surroundings and learn from their environments. As the collective “village,” we have the unique opportunity and moral obligation to ensure that our communities promote safe, healthy learning for all children.
Our village depends on it.

— Susan DeVenny, M.Ed., is the director of South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness, the state’s early childhood agency.
About National Week of the Young Child:
The Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The purpose of the Week of the Young Child is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.
Week of the Young Child in South Carolina: To read Gov. Mark Sanford’s South Carolina Week of the Young Child Proclamation — and to learn more about early brain development and the work of First Steps and our partners — go to www.scfirststeps.org/woyc.htm.