In the past 35 years, the percentage of children in out of home care during their earliest and most formative years has increased from 30% to 70%. Unless attention is paid to the availability of safe, high quality early education and child care, a majority of today’s infants and preschoolers are at risk for spending a great proportion of their time in what may be suboptimal environments.

The case for high quality early education and child care is well documented in the AAP policy statement: Quality Early Education and Child Care From Birth to Kindergarten

Pediatricians can play a vital role in promoting children’s health and well-being in early education and child care settings. This section of the Web site contains suggestions on how you as a pediatrician can become involved.