The efficacy of early intervention has been demonstrated and replicated in diverse communities across the nation. The principle that guides medical practice should also apply to policies and practices that affect children. Allow parents to fulfill their all-important role in providing and arranging for sensitive, predictable care for their children. Parents need more information about how the kind of care they provide affects their children's capacities. Implement policies that support parents in forming strong, secure attachments with their infants in the early months, and make a concentrated effort to improve the quality of early care and education.
Prevention is best, but when a child needs help, intervene quickly and intensively.
Warm, responsive care cushions children from the occasional bumps and bruises that are inevitable in everyday life. If children are given timely, intensive help, many can overcome a wide range of developmental problems. To have greatest impact, interventions must be timely and must be followed up with appropriate, sustained services and support. Promote the healthy development and learning of every child of every age, every demographic description, and every risk category. If we miss opportunities to promote healthy development and learning, later remediation may be more difficult and expensive, and may be less effective.