A CONFERENCE which emphasised the critical importance of early childhood has been told that proposals to “transform” social services for mothers and infants will be brought to the Government before the end of the year.
Minister of State for Primary Care Róisín Shortall was chairing what she described as a “groundbreaking forum” in Dublin where speakers said tendencies towards crime, violence and abuse were often embedded in a person’s make-up before three years of age.
George Hosking, an authority on crime prevention and chief executive of Wave Trust in Britain, which is “dedicated to making the world safer by reducing the root causes of violence, including child abuse and neglect”, said the key period in a child’s life was between birth and three years.
“In the infant brain, synapses – or connections – are being formed at the rate of one million per second. Those connections are made based on the experience the infant is having at that moment.”
The infant’s brain was being “hardwired” and this was “the critical window when skills and functions are being formed”.
If this happened in a nurturing, supportive, secure environment where there was positive interaction, the toddler would come through with a brain hardwired to expect security, care and love.
If it happened in an environment characterised by neglect, lack of positive interaction, aggression or violence, the toddler was more likely to be aggressive, withdrawn, depressed and/or insecure.
“The time in a child’s life when they are at greatest risk of abuse – violence or neglect – was in their first year, because babies cry,” Mr Hosking said. “The most critical aspect of the infant’s life is the relationship between baby and key carer, usually the mother.”
The quality of care in the key first years affected the baby’s later potential in education, employment and health. “Dysfunctional children create stupendous costs,” he said. Savings to be made across education, health, social and criminal justice systems by investing in supports and interventions with mothers and babies to end abuse were huge, he added.
Ms Shortall described the evidence as “compelling . . . the first three years are critical. The challenge is when there is huge pressure on all budgets, to ensure we get value for money, achieve more on a smaller budget. It makes sense to invest in social services to prevent greater problems. I want to see the primary care budget ring-fenced.
“A memo on primary care and public health policy will be going to Government before the end of the year and investing in infant mental health, and greater supports for mothers, particularly in disadvantaged areas, will be among the proposals.”
The forum was hosted by Young Ballymun.
