Baby Small Investments Make a World of Difference

The Urban Child Institute recently launched its Baby Small campaign, offering a big idea: we can improve the future of our community through small, smart decisions and actions that promote optimal early childhood brain development.

Baby Small reminds us that the first years of life are a period of both extraordinary development and extraordinary opportunity. Babies’ brains develop in response to their environments. When they are surrounded by safety and love, for example, babies develop a stable sense of security and self-confidence. When these attributes develop in early childhood, they support a child’s readiness for kindergarten, and strengthen the foundation of that child’s success in school and life.

The Baby Small promise is that small investments today – investments in time, in energy, in public policy priorities and, certainly, in money – will lead to big returns later. These big returns include healthier, better educated and more productive adults; more living wage jobs; a growing tax base; rising rates of homeownership and reduce crime rates. This is a future we wish for all Memphians.