All children need to be provided with environments that will support their desire and abilities to learn.

Children are born with a wealth of abilities and are “wired to learn”. Naturally, they seek to make sense of the world through language, social interactions, and physical activities; therefore, while infants and toddlers may not be able to formulate a sentence or coordinate all movements, their minds are very active. Research has shown that the first three years of a child’s life are critical to physical and social/emotional development, brain development and cognitive learning. The importance of this stage in a child’s development cannot be undervalued and their needs and interests must be the focus when discussing their care.

Due to the growing number of women in the workforce, the face of childcare in America is changing; children are in out of home care at younger and younger ages. As part of its vision, BUILD New Jersey seeks to ensure that all infants and toddlers have access to quality early learning programs.

To learn more about the goals of BUILD New Jersey as it relates to Infants and toddlers, click on BUILD Policy Focus. For current research, relevant links and additional information regarding infants and toddlers, click on Learn More.

Did You Know?

The face of childcare in America is changing.

Each day, approximately 6 million children under age three- including children with mothers who work outside of the home and those who do not-spend some or all of their day being cared for by someone other than their parents.
In 2001, only ¼ of all families with children younger than six- and only 1/3 of married-couple families with young children- had one parent working and one parent who stayed at home.

-Children’s Defense Fund