Prenatal care for mother and child. Her avoidance of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. A caring pediatrician. And reading, reading, reading. The food needn t be expensive.
Breast milk is free and offers emotional and medical benefits along with nutrition.
Many youngsters prefer the empty boxes or household pots and pans. The books can come from the school or public library rather than the bookstore. The consistency and caring need not come from a parent or expensive day care. A sibling, grandparent, neighbor, baby sitter or foster parent may provide them. In other words, we re talking about a fair start for all the world s children, not just the privileged offspring of affluent professionals in industrialized nations.