Stable Housing Supports Early Childhood Development and Lifelong Health
Explore how safe, stable, and healthy housing supports children’s health and development, as well as strategies to expand access to affordable, climate-resilient homes for all families.
Having a stable place to call home is essential to children’s health and development. Stable housing reduces family stress, provides a safe space for consistent sleep and daily routines, and may make it easier to form social connections. In contrast, unstable housing can lead to a cascade of disruptions, from changes in childcare to losing access to community support. The quality and conditions of a child’s home also shape their development, as exposure to unsafe housing conditions—such as poor ventilation, mold, and pests—can directly affect young children’s health and well-being.
In recent years, it has become more difficult for families to find and keep a stable, healthy home, as home prices and rents have grown at a higher rate than household incomes. Climate change is also exacerbating these challenges through damage and displacement caused by extreme weather events. Families with fewer resources and families of color are disproportionately impacted by these challenges because of historic and current policy decisions. Ensuring fairness across ZIP codes requires working together to make sure safe, stable, affordable, and climate-resilient homes are available not just in some neighborhoods but in all communities.
This working paper from the Early Childhood Scientific Council on Equity and the Environment explores how housing quality and stability shape young children’s health and development. It examines how housing affects children through direct and indirect pathways, how climate change is intensifying housing challenges, and how policies and programs can improve access to safe, healthy, stable, affordable, and climate-resilient homes. By implementing strategies that increase housing stability and quality for families with young children, we can support the health and development of children across the United States.
Sections include:
- How Housing Affects Early Childhood Development
- Housing Quality Directly Impacts Young Children
- Housing Stability Indirectly Impacts Young Children
- How Climate Change Is Impacting Housing Quality and Stability
- What We Can Do to Improve Access to Stable and Healthy Housing
Suggested citation: Early Childhood Scientific Council on Equity and the Environment. (2026). Stable Housing Supports Early Childhood Development and Lifelong Health: Working Paper No. 5. Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu