Talk With Me Baby

“The Still Face Experiment”

Source: Hart & Risley, 1995

THE GROWING BRAIN IS SHAPED BY THE EXPERIENCES AROUND IT

18

Age at which differences begin to appear in how many words a child hears

months

AbuseHungerUnsafe housing

Maternal depression

Poverty

NeglectAdult resilience

Strong, supportive relationships

Community & Families

Lots of loving words and interactions

Laughter, serve & return

Literacy as Public Health ImperativeIn 2013, only 34% of

Georgia’s 4th graders were

reading at grade level, and only 21% of low income kids

were reading at grade level.

3rd Graders who read at grade level

are

4x more likely to stay in and

graduate from high school.

The higher the level of education, the lower the rates

of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cardiac disease, infant mortality and depression

!!

! !!

!

Source: Georgia Dept. of Education

Talk With Me Baby: Parents as Best and First Teachers

Our Goal: Partner with ALL families to coach them on how

to increase QUANTITY and QUALITY of language to feed their babies’ growing minds.

It’s free. Any parent can do it, regardless of home language or education level.

The more positive feedback a child receives, the more the brain develops.

Nurses see 99% of new parent and baby at regular

intervals - prenatally and 1st

year of life

Educating Workforces Who Care for Families

WIC touches 61% of new babies

born in Georgia, and many of those most vulnerable

Outside of family caregivers, early

childhood educators spend more hours per day with babies

Transforming Lives. Transforming Communities.

Individual

Community

System

Coach families on language nutritionSupport positive behavior support

Promote healthy behaviorsReinforce your cultural identity

Engage community leaders as champions, drive awareness

Identify innovation opportunitiesIncrease access to books, resources and tools

Businesses adopt family-friendly practicesCoordinate social media/awareness

campaigns

Data and evaluation to identify opportunities and determine efficacy

Createt safe, supportive nurturing environments

Promote best practices and policiesDevelop training for workforces

Establish professional standards

Community Engagement &

Awareness

Education & Training

Research Funding Policy

Increased access through partnerships

Data & Evaluation

Brain Trust 4 Babies:Early Brain Development as Statewide

Priority

Family Engagement

Discussion

Appendix

Average Life Expectancy

College Educated

< High School

79.7 72.9

College Educated

< High School

83.5 78.4

Infant Mortality Rates Associated With Educational

Attainment

Mothers with 0 – 11 Years of Education

8.1

Mothers with 12 Years of

Education

7.6

Mothers with 13-15 Years of Education

6.2

Mothers with 16+ Years of

Education

4.2

Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Slide for Business

Slide for Educators