The Center for the Developing, Harvard

I have tried several times to contact someone abroad. I have not had any luck, but I will continue to reach out to professionals across the world. In the meantime, I chose to research a website from Harvard. Dr. Jack Shonkoff established The Center for the Developing child in 2006; for research and teaching, they work with other professionals across the world.

While reviewing the Harvard website, I learned that the Global Children’s Initiative focuses on helping children who are in crisis or conflict, child development needs, and the mental health of children around the world. All of these are vital areas of need when dealing with children and families. Three focal points under the early child development title are, assessing global childhood programs to see if they are quality and diverse in nature, they find developmentally appropriate assessment tools to measure the development of children in Zambia, and they “organize interventions to improve preschools in Chile” (Developing Child Harvard, 2014).

Another important insight I found is how the scientist and researchers work with the children who are affect by HIV and aids. Often the mental health of these children is at risk because of the severity of the disease. They provide help and hope for the children, increasing the over quality of their lives.

The final thing that intrigued me while researching was how the center strived to improve equity and excellence in the children across the world who were victims of crisis and conflict situations. They helped the children in Haiti and Chile after the earthquake; surveying what was needed to help them after the crisis. The center continues to strive to improve the lives of all families and children.

Lah-Lah Devine

Resources

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/