Mind Matters: The wisest investment

Posted by Dr. Kayta Gajdos on June 10, 2017

In high school, I discovered Maria Montessori and her theories of childhood education that she developed in the early 1900s. She stressed how important the early years of childhood, 0 to 5, were in the development of the healthy individual. She considered the young mind to be an absorbent mind, rapidly developing and in need of great nurturing and care. Since her time, neuroscience and early child development research corroborate her ideas. What is shocking, however, is that even though we know so much about the importance of prenatal care of the mother, and about the needs of infants and young children, we still give short shrift to both.

I have written about these issues and about the series that addresses them before, but we learn through repetition and, besides, the tenor of the times calls forth such repetition. If we don’t take an economic interest in our children and invest in them early on, there is no future!

The series I refer to is The Raising of America (raisingofamerica.org) that was presented on PBS last year but can be obtained for screenings for organizations, schools, churches, and so on. The first episode points out how the stress of parents affects babies negatively. So what to do? Improve conditions for families with young children as an investment for the future of our nation! How? Provide maternity leave, pumping stations at work for nursing mothers, affordable day care: these would be starters.

Another episode asks, “Are we crazy about our kids?” Here, economists and investors speak out. They acknowledge, along with researchers, that the brain develops the most in the first five years of life. Robert Dugger, an investment banker, and James Heckman, a Nobel Laureate economist discuss not only how important the early years are in terms of development of trust and curiosity, but also how fallacious it is to assume that abilities, motivations, and skills are locked in at birth.

Arthur Rolnick, former senior vice president of The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, added to the conversation that the best investment for the nation is in its children — in early childhood education. He noted that moral arguments are all well and good but policy makers need more, financial incentives, perhaps.

The economists looked to studies that gave incontrovertible evidence that high-quality early childhood education was a terrific investment not only for the individual children but the community as a whole. A Perry, Mich. program was one such study: another was in Quebec. What was notable? That the “outcomes equal hard dollars.” Yes, the programs may have cost, but the returns far outweighed the initial investment. Children in such programs stayed in school, going on to earn a decent income thereby contributing more in taxes, and “less likely to incur the social costs of welfare and prison.”

Dugger asks himself daily why we don’t invest in our children. Dugger asserts that the budget crisis is not a shortage of money for child development, but the money is lobbied away in spending patterns antithetical to the health and welfare of our children. Rolnick adds that allowing cities and states “to try to lure each other’s companies with subsidies” does nothing, from a national perspective, to create new jobs! These maneuvers cost the taxpayer billions; meanwhile, children’s programs are cut.

The bottom line actually is the bottom line: the best economic investment this nation could make is in investing in its children.

Early childhood education is only one theme addressed in this series. Watch all the episodes and then consider—how would you like to invest in the children of America?

*Kayta Curzie Gajdos holds a doctorate in counseling psychology and is in private practice in Belmont, Massachusetts. She welcomes comments at MindMatters@DrGajdos.com or 610-388-2888. Past columns are posted to www.drgajdos.com. See book.quietwisdom-loudtimes.com for information about her book, “Quiet Wisdom in Loud Times: The Rise of the Wounded Feminine.”

** The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of Chadds Ford Live. We welcome opposing viewpoints. Readers may comment in the comments section or they may submit a Letter to the Editor to editor@chaddsfordlive.com

About Kayta Gajdos

Dr. Kathleen Curzie Gajdos ("Kayta") is a licensed psychologist (Pennsylvania and Delaware) who has worked with individuals, couples, and families with a spectrum of problems. She has experience and training in the fields of alcohol and drug addictions, hypnosis, family therapy, Jungian theory, Gestalt therapy, EMDR, and bereavement. Dr. Gajdos developed a private practice in the Pittsburgh area, and was affiliated with the Family Therapy Institute of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, having written numerous articles for the Family Therapy Newsletter there. She has published in the American Psychological Association Bulletin, the Family Psychologist, and in the Swedenborgian publications, Chrysalis and The Messenger. Dr. Gajdos has taught at the college level, most recently for West Chester University and Wilmington College, and has served as field faculty for Vermont College of Norwich University the Union Institute's Center for Distance Learning, Cincinnati, Ohio. She has also served as consulting psychologist to the Irene Stacy Community MH/MR Center in Western Pennsylvania where she supervised psychologists in training. Currently active in disaster relief, Dr. Gajdos serves with the American Red Cross and participated in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts as a member of teams from the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Now living in Chadds Ford, in the Brandywine Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, Dr. Gajdos combines her private practice working with individuals, couples and families, with leading workshops on such topics as grief and healing, the impact of multigenerational grief and trauma shame, the shadow and self, Women Who Run with the Wolves, motherless daughters, and mediation and relaxation. Each year at Temenos Retreat Center in West Chester, PA she leads a griefs of birthing ritual for those who have suffered losses of procreation (abortions, miscarriages, infertility, etc.); she also holds yearly A Day of Re-Collection at Temenos.Dr. Gajdos holds Master's degrees in both philosophy and clinical psychology and received her Ph.D. in counseling at the University of Pittsburgh. Among her professional affiliations, she includes having been a founding member and board member of the C.G. Jung Educational Center of Pittsburgh, as well as being listed in Who's Who of American Women. Currently, she is a member of the American Psychological Association, The Pennsylvania Psychological Association, the Delaware Psychological Association, the American Family Therapy Academy, The Association for Death Education and Counseling, and the Delaware County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Board. Woven into her professional career are Dr. Gajdos' pursuits of dancing, singing, and writing poetry.