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| Clyde Hertzman speaks about the state of early childhood development at the Imagine Our Future national conference on Wednesday night. Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy |
By Lisa Goudy
Early
childhood development is central to maintaining health, as demonstrated during
the opening night of the Imagine Our Future national conference at Mosaic
Place.
“The
early years are very, very important for us to take seriously as a society,”
said Clyde Hertzman, a professor in the School of Population and Public Health
at the University of British Columbia and the director of the Human Early
Learning Partnership (HELP).
Additional comments
“Early human
development influences outcomes across the entire life,” said Clyde Hertzman. “By the
end of the second decade of life, what happened in those first five years is
influencing risks of school failure, unwanted teenage pregnancy and early
criminality, despite all the things that come afterwards.”
“The conference is about looking at the importance of the
early years and not only the early development, but the effect of parenting and
families on that development and looking at what we can do to make a difference
for the future. The future of these children and the future of the economy and
general health and well-being of our city, our province and our country,” said
Christine Boyczuk.
