Life Chances

Overwhelming evidence suggests that, within the context of the early years of a child’s life (0-5), the single most important factor influencing a child’s intellectual and social development is the quality of parenting and care they receive and the quality of the home learning environment that this creates. What parents do is ultimately more important than who parents are.

Effectively, our brains are largely formed by what we experience in early life. At birth there are 100 billion neurons (brain cells) and 50 trillion synapses (connections). By age three, the number of synapses has increased twenty-fold to one thousand trillion. Many new synapses are formed and strengthened by experience – early life defines which of them live and which die. Synapses become ‘hard-wired’ by repeated use, enabling very rapid learning via early life experience. Conversely, just as a memory will fade if it is hardly ever accessed, unused synapses wither away. The whole process has the effect of making early learned behaviour resistant to change.
 
The brain of an abused or neglected child is significantly smaller than the norm: the system which governs emotions is 20-30 per cent smaller; the part responsible for memory is also smaller. Both of these stunted developments are the direct result of much less stimulation (e.g. sight, sound, touch) than is required for normal development of the brain.

The Church is already involved with parents and children but could we adjust our social actions to make more of a difference for this group?

Stories of resilience  Over the past 18 months, some charities in Scotland working in partnership with churches have been running a remarkable campaign to help make Scotland the first Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Aware nation in the world. More ... Geoff Knott Breaking the silence on child abuse Nobody really knows how many adults were abused as children, either sexually, physically or emotionally. The devastating long-term impact of child abuse is only beginning to be widely understood. More ... From a guest blog by Tony Thompson Are you a gardener or a carpenter? Caring deeply about our children is part of what makes us human. Do we shape them like a carpenter or create a protected and nurturing space for them to flourish as in a garden? More ... From a book review of The Gardener and the Carpent How to be a resilient parent  Numerous researchers have concluded that how parents respond to stressors is much more important than the stressor itself in determining the outcomes for themselves and their children. More ... From a study by Center of the Study of Social Poli Six things about resilience and wellbeing  Lessons learned in improving resilience and emotional wellbeing in answer to the question, "Could life be more than just a struggle to keep my head above water?". More ... From a blog by Mind and Soul Foundation Being truly present with our families  Constitutive of a happy and satisfied life is living in the presence of those we love. Consistently. More ... From a blog by Bacon from Acorns The value to a family of reading Reading aloud has been found to be significantly beneficial to both children and their parents. More ... From an article by CNN Becoming a trauma sensitive school  Beacon House have a great list of resources on their website as recommended to them by teachers, parents and mental health professionals. More ... Geoff Knott Fostering empathy in children  It’s easy to ask children of any age to apologise, and preparing children to understand why apologies matter is a crucial part of their development. More ... From a blog by Famly Children’s well-being and social relationships, UK: 2018  Children’s well-being is an important part of the nation’s well-being. Childhood sets the foundation for a well-functioning and healthy adulthood. More ... From an article by ONS No Questions Asked  Youthscape study discovers a profound lack of questioning around God, faith and religion among the young people they spoke to. More ... From a report by Youthscape Spear The Spear programme helps 16-24-year-olds,who are not in education, employment or training, into work or training in partnership with employers. More ... Geoff Knott The effect of a dog in school  A comfort dog is a counselling support. They possess the two most important qualities of an effective social worker or counsellor--unconditional acceptance and warmth. More ... Geoff Knott Community mothers  How do you reach migrant families that stretched social services do not have time to relate to? Berlin trains unemployed mothers that are long-established in Germany but are themselves from immigrant backgrounds. More ... From a blog by Apolitical Relationship red flags  Six warning signs that indicate a relationship is in trouble and that are particularly important to root out before they do permanent damage. More ... From a blog by The Institute of Family Studies 2018 Modern Families Index  A significant proportion of UK’s working parents are struggling to cope with long work hours – and stalling and downshifting their careers for family life. More ... From a report by Working Families and Bright Horiz Bullying insights Early childhood settings provide an opportunity for educators to effectively prevent and stop the emergence of bullying behaviour and to foster the development of positive social interactions. More ... From a report by PromotePrevent Yondr - helping to live phone-free  The effect on school campuses has been dramatic; increased attention, more socialising, better grades and lower number of discipline issues. More ... Geoff Knott Children’s or Youth Work Apprenticeships  An option for children and youth workers? The Government part-fund costs and the apprentice must receive training towards vocational qualifications. More ... Reasons to prioritise Early Years Early Years development is at the heart of social mobility. The reasons underscore the importance of focusing on ideas and interventions that can impact child outcomes as soon as possible. More ... From a blog by Nesta Window of tolerance  An insightful video by Beacon House which explains how a child with many adverse childhood experiences swings from fight/flight to freeze/collapse; and what adults can do to help More ... A video from Beacon House Can kindness be taught?  Teaching kindness really does make a difference. Better behaviour, discipline rates down, inclusiveness up, grades up, student conflicts down, teacher-student relationship stronger. More ... Geoff Knott The power of touch Touch sends a powerful message – it can do and say much more than words ever could. More ... Geoff Knott Alike  The example we set for our children - how we choose to lead our lives - is much, much more important than what we say. More ... From a video by Daniel Lara and Rafa Mendes Parents now spend twice as much time with their children as 50 years ago  With the exception of France, parents these days spend a lot more time with their offspring - especially fathers. Britain is one of the leading countries. More ... From an article in the Economist What makes families resilient?  Children who know a lot about their family tend to be more resilient and therefore have better chances for good outcomes when faced with challenges. More ... From research by Dr Marshall Duke Family breakdown - a major influence on teen mental health  More than a third of children whose parents had split up reported poor mental health, compared to only a fifth with parents who were still together. More ... From a report by The Marriage Foundation Making the case for new school designs  Our model of schooling is more than 100 years old and has barely changed in that time. 10 questions to help thinking. More ... From a blog by The Innovation Unit Teachers - born to make a difference Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be. More ... From a Tedx talk by Rita Pearson Legislating to become trauma-informed Information on policies aimed at reducing trauma and toxic stress and promoting resiliency and trauma-informed practices in institutions. More ... Geoff Knott Bullying Junior  Each year approximately 30% of students worldwide are the target of bullying.  Lives are lost or forever changed. How can we challenge such behaviour? More ... From material by No Bully Far beyond the waves  Charlotte and Gavin wait in hope to be parents, but are also aware that it might not happen. They trust God regardless of their disappointments.  More ... From a video by CV School and community needs as real-world catalysts for learning By using real-world problems as projects for children to solve, a primary school empowers, engages, and excites students. More ... From an article by Edutopia Reducing reoffending by keeping mothers and children together  Diverting women from prison and keeping families together can save money and help break the intergenerational cycle of incarceration. More ... From a blog by Pew Research Language as a child wellbeing indicator  A report on how language development in early years links to social, emotional and learning outcomes in later years. More ... Early Years Foundation Creating a love of reading  Research into role of mothers and fathers - different impact on development? More ... From a blog by the University of Wollongong, NSW, A Therapeutic Treasure Box  A book packed with tools, methods and suggestions that will be indispensable to therapists, parents and anyone working with traumatised kids. More ... Geoff Knott Restorative justice in schools  Restorative justice programmes have had a measurable impact on school behaviour and educational outcomes. More ... Geoff Knott Increasing the time parents read to their children  Nudges increased parental engagement, doubling reading time and benefiting children. More ... Geoff Knott Becoming a trauma informed environment  Research into Adverse Childhood Experiences has meant trauma-informed practices are rising globally in schools, prisons, etc. More ... Geoff Knott What do parents hope and fear for their children?  The Parent Report from Spurgeons Childrens Charity looks at parents’ hopes and concerns for their children and where they turn for help. More ... Geoff Knott Commission on Inequality in Education  As well as factors including location, income, etc., the importance of parental engagement in education was assessed. More ... Geoff Knott Reimagining senior school  In the USA, 13 schools in 11 cities are exploring new, innovative ways to engage students and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow. More ... Geoff Knott Working with young women in prison  Young female offenders and ex-offenders in particular are in desperate need of positive role models, new skills, new opportunities and new aspirations. More ... Geoff Knott Counting your blessings improves mental health   Recent evidence suggests if the practice of gratitude is added to counselling, it shows great psychological benefits. More ... From research by Joel Wong and Joshua Brown, India Street Play - communities brought together by kids playing in the road  Closing a street for several hours, several times per year so that kids can play in the street and through that neighbours can meet each other. More ... Geoff Knott Within My/Our Reach - an opportunity to improve relationships  Workshops birthed out of 30 years of research in the field of relationship health given to over 300,000 people. Results; lower divorce rates, better communication skills, reduction in violence. More ... Geoff Knott Dads want to succeed as fathers but parent relationship needs to be strong There is a narrative of absent fathers who had multiple children with different women and abandoned them. However, research on those fathers offers another, more uplifting story. More ... Geoff Knott Voice for the voiceless  What you won’t find in the news each day Is that five hundred babies were aborted in the UK Their silence in death matches our silence in life An inconvenience kept out of sight More ... Geoff Knott 10 myths about parenthood and mental health NCT have debunked popular myths and misconceptions about mental health as related to pregnancy and early years parenting. More ... From an article by NCT Gen Z: Rethinking Culture  Research on youth culture to help to understand how to connect effectively with today’s young people and share the good news of Jesus. More ... From research by Youth for Christ Ollie's story  200,000 children are affected by parental imprisonment each year. Here is the story of one of them. More ... From a video by PACT Random App of Kindness  Is it possible, through an app, to teach children empathy? Early results promising.. More ... Geoff Knott Children's books that encourage kindness towards others  Kindness is one of the most important character traits and books can help show the best ways to be kind to others or why kindness matters. More ... Geoff Knott 8 things to remember about child development  Harvard University's Centre for the Developing Child has published a list of key findings about aspects of early child development. More ... From an article by Harvard University's Centre for Safe Families for Children  Helps stop children being taken into care. Instead they are placed temporarily with volunteer Host Families, mostly from churches. More ... Geoff Knott Let's Talk  Short videos and education packs that encourage conversations about key mental health topics. More ... Geoff Knott The Beginning of Life  This beautiful film, supported by UNICEF, explores the impact of a child’s early environment on their cognitive, social and emotional development. More ... Geoff Knott Circle of Security  An early intervention programme about how secure parent-child relationships can be supported and strengthened. More ... Geoff Knott A Parent’s Guide to Self-harm  Selfharm UK have published 'A Parent’s Guide to Self-harm' and an article 'Ten Top Tips for Parents of Children who Self-Harm'. More ... From an article by Selfharm UK Fatherhood: the impact of fathers on children’s mental health  From pregnancy and early years through to adolescence, fathers are a major influence on a child’s emotional and behavioural health. More ... From a report by the Centre for Mental Health Grandparents and children - two-way benefits? We intuitively know that grandparents contribute to children's wellbeing but what are those benefits and are there reciprocal ones to grandparents? More ... Geoff Knott Encouraging creativity  Creativity is very relevant to the way people work and also discovering who you are - what interests you and what could be your vocation. More ... Geoff Knott Books that help children understand migrant and refugee experiences  A great resource to help get children focusing on identity, belonging, conflict, migrant and refugee experiences - helping them make sense of the world around us and our place in it. More ... From an article by The Centre for Literacy in Prim Teaching children about emotions  Helping children to understand and manage their emotions is a key to their future health and development. More ... Geoff Knott The things I would tell myself before I had children  Emi Watson is a mum of two and a Digital Advertising Sales Manager. In this extract from her blog on the Mental Health Foundation website, she reflects on the changes she has experienced since becoming a mum. More ... From the Mental Health Foundation The 'Missing' First Year? While parents have a general understanding that what happens in a child’s early years can last a lifetime, many don’t realize at what age babies and toddlers can begin to feel complex emotions. More ... Geoff Knott Empowering the young to lead Learn to Lead - a programme for youngsters that takes engagement to a new level. Applicable to church children and youthwork? More ... Geoff Knott Forecasting which children will cost society the most  20% of the population accounts for the lion’s share of social costs such as crime and welfare dependence as adults. Can we predict at age 3 and intervene? More ... From research by King’s College London, Duke Unive Higher levels of education do not mean higher levels of tolerance  Education is said to make people more tolerant by enhancing their knowledge and reasoning skills. As the generations become better educated and enlightened, does society become more tolerant? More ... From an article by Jan Janmaat, UCL We are Family: the changing face of family ministry How is the Church working with families today? What does this ministry look like? What training and resources are available for those working in this field? More ... From research by CGMC and The Methodist Church 10 tips for building resilience in children and teens  Building resilience — the ability to adapt well to adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even significant sources of stress — can help our children manage stress and feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. More ... From a guide by the American Psychological Associa EasyPeasy - learning through play, every day  Nearly half of children arrive at school ‘not ready to learn’. EasyPeasy is an app for parents to use that supports learning through play at home and shows significant improvement in school readiness skills. More ... Geoff Knott £17bn per year - the cost of late intervention Results of research of the costs of ‘late intervention’: the acute, statutory and essential benefits and services that are required when children and young people experience significant but preventable difficulties in life. More ... From a report by EI Foundation How families are combining work and family life Earlier this year, Working Families published their 3rd Modern Families Index - a snapshot of family life in the UK today. In particular, it focuses on how families combine work and family life. More ... Working Families Adverse Childhood Experiences - a doctor's story Gabor Maté has worked worked in a palliative care and in an area challenged by hard core addiction, mental illness, HIV and related conditions. He talks about the importance of early years' development. More ... From a talk by Gabor Maté 5 steps of emotion coaching to help child development  Successful parents tend to do 5 very simple things with their children when they were emotional. Children who had “Emotion Coaches” for parents were on a more positive developmental trajectory. More ... Geoff Knott The Village This is the story of a remarkable village in Luquan, Kunming which has taken 166 special needs children from the Kunming orphanage into their families. A picture of God adopting us. More ... From a video by Care for Children Home for Good - a home for every child that needs one Sunday 6th November 2016 is Adoption Sunday. It is an opportunity each year for the Church to share the good news of our adoption into God’s family and to respond to the needs of young people in the UK care system. More ... From Home for Good What to expect, when? A simple guide which takes parents of 0-5 year olds through the expectations of each age band and how they can support their children’s learning and development. More ... A publication of 4Children Four Styles of Parenting  Developmental psychologists have identified four parenting styles and all have different impacts on children; Authoritarian, Authoritative, Permissive, Uninvolved. What is impact on children? More ... From an article by Kendra Cherry How a community becomes trauma-informed A few weeks back, I wrote about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the effect they have on adult health including mental illness, doing time in prison, and work issues, such as absenteeism. More ... Geoff Knott 'You'll either be a millionaire or locked up.' We can all encourage youngsters as they grow up and that can, without you knowing, have a great affect on their future. To illustrate this, here are two stories: More ... Geoff Knott Why mindset matters A fixed mindset believes intelligence is static which leads to children not achieving their potential. A growth mindset on the other hand believes that intelligence can be developed and leads to higher levels of achievement. More ... Geoff Knott Private schools helping primaries in deprived areas   In Silicon Valley, California, there is a very high achieving set of schools – Valley Christian Schools. They have linked with a primary school in a local area where there are lots of social issues. The results in this primary school have risen More ... Geoff Knott Where is the village? It is said that it takes a village to raise a child, but where is that village today? Bill Milliken, now 75, reflects on lessons he has learnt from helping troubled students in the USA stay in school, graduate, and succeed in life. More ... From a talk by Bill Milliken, co-founder Communiti Three resources for parents of toddlers Free downloadable resources for you to give away in your community to parents of 1-5's and advertise your parent and toddler group based on resources of SKIP, a community campaign in New Zealand. More ... Geoff Knott Three resources for expectant and new parents Free downloadable resources for you to give away in your community to expectant or new parents and advertise your parent group, based on resources of SKIP, a community campaign in New Zealand. More ... Geoff Knott The marriage gap between rich and poor parents  The Marriage Foundation has found that a marriage gap between rich and poor parents exists throughout Europe, contrasting marriage rates between top and bottom income quintiles. More ... From a briefing paper by The Marriage Foundation Key factor that predicts community involvement A study in 2013 found that attending cultural or sports events was the largest predictor of civic engagement. Young people who said they went "often" to theatre, ballet, classical concerts, museums, galleries or sports events More ... Geoff Knott Youth club for young refugees and asylum seekers An example of a church which started a youth venture among vulnerable young refugees and asylum seekers. "Once the basic needs are provided for [by the authorities], their other needs take a back seat. More ... Geoff Knott Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and future health A multi-year survey of 17000 patients looked at their health and also asked what childhood traumas they had experienced. When the doctor conducting the research first saw the results, he was stunned. “I wept,” he says. More ... Geoff Knott John Pounds, Thomas Guthrie, Thomas Cranfield A cobbler, a minister, a tailor. Men of faith who started teaching poor children in the late 18th/early 19th century that led to a revolution in the British education system. More ... Geoff Knott Resources for youth mental health "Some people with mental health problems today are almost guaranteed to live a life in poverty. And the number of people who suffer from poor mental health is larger than you might think." More ... Geoff Knott Wide division in building good childhood foundations in high-low socio-economic families "Social mobility begins in the home. Parenting has not received the attention it deserves. Parents provide the foundations for children’s progress in later life" More ... Geoff Knott Help children by helping their parents In 1986, in a few of the poorest neighborhoods in Kingston, Jamaica, researchers held an experiment that has done a great deal to change our thinking about how to help children succeed. Its message: Help children by supporting and coaching their parents. More ... From an essay by Paul Tough, author Too many children in care ending up behind bars  An independent review, established by Prison Reform Trust. Around half of the 1,000 children currently in custody in England and Wales have experience of the care system. This is despite fewer than 1% of all children in England More ... An independent review Prison Reform Trust The effect of inter-parental relationships on children The quality of the inter-parental relationship, specifically how parents communicate and relate to each other, is increasingly recognised as a primary influence on effective parenting practices and More ... Professor Gordon Harold and Dr. Ruth Sellers After-school clubs help poorer primary school pupils to get ahead Taking part in after-school clubs can give primary school children from poorer families a boost in academic performance and provide them with important social skills. According to a new working paper More ... From article-Emily Tanner NatCen Social Research The opportunity of work experience and community service Why do university educated, professional classes continue to move ahead while those at the bottom can remain stuck? What can we do about the advantages that are lacking? More ... Geoff Knott 6 resources to help with education When the Life Chances initiative was launched in January 2016 to help the poorest children in the country, one of the 4 areas of focus was education. Many churches are already involved in giving assemblies, etc., but what might be extensions More ... Geoff Knott Lifesavers - financial education and savings clubs The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Task Group and pfeg, the Personal Finance Education Group are rolling out LifeSavers, a national financial education programme for primary schools. Could you register a primary school you are involved with? More ... Geoff Knott School Kit - for parents to help their kids get the best out of school TLG have just launched a video-based course called School Kit. School can often present challenges to children and to parents. School Kit brings together the experiences of lots of parents and unpacks More ... Geoff Knott 6 resources to help relationships - families and early years In my last blog about this subject, we looked at resources that could be helpful in developing good parenting for early years. In this one, let's look at resources that churches can use to help relationships. More ... Geoff Knott 11 resources for parenting - families and early years "Families are the best anti-poverty measure ever invented. They are a welfare, education and counselling system all wrapped up into one. Children in families that break apart are more than twice as likely to More ... Geoff Knott