Meredith Wiley is an attorney who served as Chief of Staff for Oregon's Speaker of the House. Abuse and neglect in those early days ruins lives. But Americans drastically overlook our children s prenatal, infant and early childhood development. It s not the finger that pulls the trigger or the penis that rapes, according to the research which Karr-Morse and Wiley quote. It s the brain.
Babies reflect back what they absorb, biologically and socially.
The implications are clear. When we improve our babies lives, we improve our entire society. While government programs will not solve all the problems, they can go a long way toward addressing them. Non-stigmatizing programs similar to Great Britain s highly successful home visitation program are beginning to be developed. Whether princess or chamber maid, every new Mom and her baby gets visited, assuring all parents and their babies the benefit of good information and community support.