The North Carolina Partnership for Children, through the Smart Start Network, released a press release on June 26 describing their new public health initiative: The Basics North Carolina (The Basics NC). The Basics NC is a community-wide movement and public health strategy to help caretakers prioritize interactions to support healthy brain development in the first 2,000 days of a child’s life, according to the release.
As EdNC has previously reported, more than 85% of adult brain volume is built during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, meaning the experiences a child has during their first few years of life are critical to their success for the rest of their life.
“The first five years of life are a critical window for growth and development,”
said Amy Cubbage, president of the North Carolina Partnership for Children, in the release. “By reinforcing simple, research-backed practices in everyday moments, we can help ensure that every child enters school healthy, supported, and ready to succeed.”
The Basics NC focuses on principles that help families build on what they are already doing, the release says, by supporting brain development in simple, everyday interactions. The program includes five principles, allowing caregivers and communities to understand how they can easily play a huge role in child development.
According to the release, the five basic principles are:
- Maximize love, manage stress;
- Talk, sing, and point;
- Count, group, and compare;
- Explore through movement and play; and
- Read and discuss stories.
“The Basics NC is built around an important idea: small moments build big futures,” said Basics NC Director Carey Ann Watkins. “Parents and caregivers are already creating meaningful opportunities for learning through conversations, play, reading, and connection. The Basics NC helps strengthen those everyday interactions and creates a shared language for communities to support families.”
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As EdNC has reported, early child care educators have long argued that early childhood education is a public good. However, many families cannot afford the high cost of early care and education, particularly in the first three years of life. The Basics NC program bridges part of that gap, making knowledge of how to help children grow clearer and more accessible to the public.
The campaign targets the whole community, integrating child development strategies into sites that are already a part of families’ routines.
“Libraries, healthcare providers, child care centers, schools, employers, businesses, faith organizations, and community partners all have a role to play in supporting children and families,” says the release.
Basics NC is a public awareness campaign and also includes The Basics Insights, which is a free resource for families, available to them from the time their child is born to when they turn five. Through The Basics Insights, the release says caregivers can receive at least two weekly age-based text messages with ideas for activities for their family and information to support their child’s brain development and connect them with local resources.
According to the press release, “97% of parents reported the messages helped them think more about supporting their child’s learning, and 84% reported using most or all messages they received.”
“Children’s brains are built in relationships and environments,” said Watkins. “When communities consistently reinforce these messages and support families where they are, children have stronger opportunities to thrive.”
Click here to sign up to receive The Basic Insights texts.
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