By the time most kids start preschool, aged around 3, the most important building blocks for learning have already been put in place. That’s why this edition of Early Childhood Matters focuses on learning from birth to 3 years old. Articles examine how children learn in their first three years and survey what we know about current policies and interventions to promote learning in this age group. There are country contributions focusing on Brazil, Colombia and India among others, and articles addressing the role of fatherhood, potential uses of mobile technology in early learning, a Vygotskian perspective on the issue, and the WHO intervention "Care for Child Development". 

Our annual report for 2012 reports on national and international activities in support of our three goals: taking quality early learning to scale, reducing violence in young children's lives, and improving young children's living conditions. It features contributions by the chair of the board of trustees, Peter Bell, and the executive director, Lisa Jordan. There is an executive summary in Spanish.

La octava edición de la Primera Infancia en Perspectiva, publicada en colaboración con la Universidad Abierta de Reino Unido, trata sobre ambientes saludables. En ella se recogen cuestiones sobre los retos y las oportunidades de que los niños crezcan en entornos urbanos, y el diseño de los espacios amigables para los niños. Esta publicación ofrece un fácil acceso a resúmenes sobre el estado actual del conocimiento e investigación sobre estos temas.

En esta edición se analizan los efectos que para los niños pequeños pueden tener el crecer en entornos violentos, y examina un conjunto de intervenciones desarrolladas en distintos países del mundo, y que ofrecen soluciones prácticas.

This edition of Early Childhood Matters looks at the effects of community violence on young children. Articles explore the idea that violence shoud be thought of as a public health problem analogous to infectious disease; examine from a scientific perspective the impacts on children's social, emotional and cognitive development of growing up in a violent community; share first-hand insights from children and caregivers; and explore various interventions, from the favelas of Recife to the inner cities of Chicago and Glasgow, which are offering a tangible sense of hope.

Ethiopia offers a case study in the development of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in low-resource settings, which needs to be understood in the context of recent government priorities to universalise primary education, and low levels of ECCE offered mainly by private and faith-based providers. In 2010, the Ethiopian government designed a national framework for ECCE which offers a real opportunity to strengthen quality and extend access to more disadvantaged groups. This paper reviews these developments, and reports research into the diverse early years trajectories of urban and rural Ethiopian children. The paper builds on the messages of earlier working papers in this Young Lives series, especially the importance of delivering the benefits of ECCE through quality programmes, strong government engagement and sufficient resources.

Textbooks typically give much less attention to the physical environment in which children grow up than to their social environment, yet the physical environment is intimately linked to the process of growth and development of skills and identity. Section 1 of this issue of Early Childhood in Focus draws attention to some key global challenges in providing healthy physical environments. Section 2 explores the opportunities and challenges of living in urban environments. Section 3 reviews a range of spaces designed specifically for young children, including innovative ‘democratic spaces’, and ‘child-friendly spaces’ in areas affected by disasters and emergencies.

En esta edición de Espacio para la Infancia se analizan los vínculos entre las condiciones de vida físicas en las que los niños crecen y su salud y desarrollo. Los artículos presentan, entre otros, la importancia de los accidentes y cómo prevenirlos, los efectos de la mala ventilación en el hogar, temas sobre ciduades amigables, y la importancia del contacto con la naturaleza. Las experiencias provienen de una diversidad de contextos: Perú, Brasil, Israel, Uganda. También incluye una entrevista con Alexis Tsolakis, sobre las condiciones de vida de las comunidades romaní en Europa.

The latest edition of Early Childhood Matters explores the links between the living conditions that children grow up in and their health and development. Articles look at the effects of air pollution, the significance of accidents and how to prevent them, issues involved in designing child-friendly cities, the importance of access to nature for young children, and reaching young children by involving unemployed youth in building projects. It includes contributions from Uganda, Israel, India and Brazil, and an interview with Alexis Tsolakis on the living conditions of the Roma in Europe.

Cada vez se usa más el lenguaje de la neurociencia para brindar apoyo a las aseveraciones relacionados con muchos aspectos de la vida humana.Esta edición de la serie La Infancia en Perspectiva se propone exponer un cuadro general de los campos más significativos para la investigación, comenzando (en la primera sección) con una explicación esencial pero suficiente sobre el cerebro y su funcionamiento. La segunda sección ofrece un panorama de los procesos evolutivos involucrados en el crecimiento y la maduración del cerebro del niño, en constante interacción con el ambiente, desde su concepción hasta la edad adulta. Y la tercera sección se centra en los poderosos efectos de los entornos iniciales, tanto desde el punto de vista físico como social.