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Extensive research has proven that a child’s brain develops most rapidly between the ages of birth and age 5, and thus early childhood education is key, experts say.
That will be the topic of a public forum Thursday evening in Tucson, hosted by the Children's Action Alliance. The forum is aimed at finding help for low-income families so they can find affordable child care and opportunities for early childhood education.
“We want them to make early childhood education a priority in terms of their budgets and to add resources to make it more affordable and accessible to more families," said Michelle Crow, with the Children's Action Alliance.
The group has invited local elected officials to the forum, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the YWCA, 525 N. Bonita Ave.
Crow said that it is widely known that reading to young children is a great way for a parent to help brain development.
But for many families living in poverty, parents often are so stressed worrying about money, shelter and food that sometimes even simply reading to their child is lost.
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