Policy Brief: Balancing Family and Work During a Child’s First Years

In November, the Future of Children journal published an issue funded by The Nicholson Foundation titled “Three Trimesters to Three Years: Promoting Early Development.”  The issue brought together articles from a range of experts to explore the importance of the period from conception through age 3 – when the most rapid growth of the brain and behavior occur.

In this policy brief which accompanies the issue, co-editors Anna Aizer and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn consider policies that would promote the development of young children being raised in working families. These recommendations are based on the latest research in biology, psychology, and economics around child development.