Child Development and Lifelong Health, Harvard Center

About

In their Working Paper entitled “Connecting the Brain to the Rest of the Body: Early Childhood Development and Lifelong Health Are Deeply Intertwined,” the Harvard Center on the Developing Child “examines how developing biological systems in the body interact with each other and adapt to the contexts in which a child is developing—for better or for worse—with lifelong consequences for physical and mental health.”

Featured Topics

The Working Paper examines the following topics:

    • What 21st-Century Science is Teaching Us
    • How Early Adversity Affects Developing Biological Systems
    • Common Illnesses in Adults Have Roots in Early Childhood Adversity
    • Facts About Health That Are Often Misunderstood
    • Future Directions for Policy and Practice
    • Final Reflections in a COVID-19 World

More Information

For more information, read the full Working Paper. This resource is available as a downloadable PDF.

 

Image: Two young children sitting at a desk.

Series Navigation

The Developmentally Appropriate Parenting Series highlights several early childhood topics to support parents and caregivers who are caring for young children. Use the list below to navigate through each series topic:

Learn more about the series.

Request free printed materials from our Developmentally Appropriate Parenting Series.

 

Picture: A young baby looks up at the camera.
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