Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

RESOURCE

The Center on the Developing Child is committed to helping leaders and teams not only understand the science of early childhood development, but also use it to transform the way they work. To do that, the Center has developed a set of Science X Design training and support options.

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Gray concrete pillars hold up a foundation

PODCAST

The Brain Architects: Supporting the Foundation

What is “serve and return”? And what can parents and caregivers do in their day-to-day lives to build responsive relationships? This episode of The Brain Architects podcast addresses these questions and more!

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GUIDE

A Guide to COVID-19 and Early Childhood Development

This guide for practitioners explains the science behind our core life skills, what affects their development, and how practitioners can help.

This guide pulls together information on what the outbreak means for child development, and easy-to-share resources that can help everyone from parents and caregivers to child care providers and pediatricians.

View the Guide

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VIDEO

Icon of parent and child facing each other and holding hands

Stress & Resilience: How Toxic Stress Affects Us, and What We Can Do

This guide for practitioners explains the science behind our core life skills, what affects their development, and how practitioners can help.

When the stress in your life just doesn’t let up, it can seem like there’s nothing that can make it better. But there are resources that can help, and toxic stress doesn’t have to define your life.

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WORKING PAPER

Connecting the Brain to the Rest of the Body

This Working Paper examines how developing biological systems in the body interact with each other and adapt to the contexts in which a child is developing—for better or for worse—with lifelong consequences for physical and mental health.

Read the Paper

Reaching for Breakthroughs with Science-Based Innovation

Child with scales of negative and positive outcomes

The science of early childhood is a source of new ideas that could be used to develop more effective policies & services focused on the early years of life.

Browse Key Concepts | Browse Deep Dives

Learn more and browse all of Science

Using current best practices as a starting point, the Center works with a network of fellow change agents to design, implement, and evaluate innovative, science-based practice models that achieve transformational change for vulnerable children and families.

Our Innovation Model | Innovation in Action

Learn more about Innovation & Application

Innovation does not happen in a vacuum. To bring about lasting, population-level change for children facing adversity, we must foster a movement of collective change.

Browse Key Concepts | Learning Communities in Action

Learn more about Collective Change

Connect With Us

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@HarvardCenter

Health-promoting environments early in life are critically important for building a strong foundation. Changing course is possible, but the changes we make later in life must contend with foundations that were laid down in the early years. #WhyEarlyMatters https://t.co/kxcMAoibn1 https://t.co/C0rECu7OQ6