Parents are deluged with a lot of information about how to improve their child’s cognitive abilities and how to enhance their development – both socioemotional and academic. Many of these interventions are motivated by profit, some are just marginally effective, and some not at all. We strive to sift through this information, extract the most scientifically reliable data, and provide parents with useful, practical, and widely applicable conclusions.

Children, all children, are society’s most valuable assets. Thus, they all deserve the best education their parents can provide. However, there is more. Even if parents select the most appropriate type of education for their child, which is hard enough, they then must endure its cost. With the Early Education/Child Care industry being so fragmented, there is a dizzying array of different centers and price points to choose from. Educational programs not only have to be good, they also need to be affordable and accessible.

There are many ways to approach these choices, but whichever option parents choose, it is important to understand that fundamentals, basic facts, and universal truths cannot be violated. If someone tells you that you can lose weight by going to the gym for just ten minutes a week, one must question the validity of this claim, as it violates a fundamental concept – you need to burn more calories than you took in. Similarly, if someone tells you that your child will be fine and will learn all he/she needs to know just by playing and doing no homework or worksheets or academics in the first few years of his/her life, one needs to take this with a grain of salt (perhaps several grains). It violates a fundamental concept that is universally accepted – you need to be exposed to something and practice it repeatedly if you wish to get good at it.

We hope that the accompanying blog articles help parents think through what they believe in with respect to their children’s development and education. Our blogs will provoke thought, discussion, healthy and constructive discussions and hopefully, clarity regarding the path to optimal early education.