The strongest policy imperative to reverse poverty
Zero to Three
New brain science has proven that newborn babies need to be read to, sung to, or spoken to 25 to 30 million words by their third birthday. At birth, billions of synapses in the baby’s brain start connecting – one million per second. By the third birthday, the child’s cognitive capacity is largely set.
Talking For & About Poverty Reduction
Children who do not receive the 25 to 30-million-word standard by their third birthday have a 60% chance to drop out of high school AND a 60% chance to end up in the penal system. Worse yet, after age 3, the child can no longer catch up.
This new knowledge creates a policy imperative. The idea that a baby’s ability to succeed in school and in the workplace is largely determined by the third birthday is breathtaking. In America, not reading to, singing to or speaking to babies in low income communities is the major cause of generational poverty. Around the world, knowledge of 0 to 3 in developing nations is a game changer.
Talking For & About Poverty Reduction
Children who do not receive the 25 to 30-million-word standard by their third birthday have a 60% chance to drop out of high school AND a 60% chance to end up in the penal system. Worse yet, after age 3, the child can no longer catch up.
This new knowledge creates a policy imperative. The idea that a baby’s ability to succeed in school and in the workplace is largely determined by the third birthday is breathtaking. In America, not reading to, singing to or speaking to babies in low income communities is the major cause of generational poverty. Around the world, knowledge of 0 to 3 in developing nations is a game changer.
Making Delaware a Zero to Three Model for America
Using Delaware as a model for the country, GIFT is working with experts to deliver programs and easy-to-apply tools. Zero to Three can have profound implications on the reduction of poverty, reducing the number of high school dropouts and incarceration. Zero to Three has transformational implications in developing countries.
Educate & Activate
GIFT will work with First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney, the Department of Education, Nemours, Christiana Care, Children and Families First, the Rodel Foundation, and many others, to educate Delaware’s leaders about the policy imperative of Zero to Three.
Implement
GIFT is working to implement a statewide education program for all Delawareans on the importance of 0 to 3 and provide practical ways to speak, sing, and read to newborns, with a special focus on nonprofits and schools impacting under-served, at-risk populations.
Spread the Word
In 2019, GIFT is working to help organize a Delaware Zero to Three Summit, with plans to host a National Zero to Three Conference in 2020.
