Nursery World - A Unique Child Inequality: Part 4

In the final part of this series, Mary Dickins explores the evidence showing how poverty affects well-being

Early childhood, defined as the period between pre-natal development and eight years of age, is widely acknowledged to be the most important period of development, in which individuals are most sensitive to environment and external influences. Research shows that during this period, the foundations are laid for physical and mental capacities and that this influences subsequent growth, health and development. This begins before birth, when the health of a baby is often affected by the health of its mother and the socio-economic status and material circumstances of its parents.

The effects of poverty and inequality on young children are often explored in terms of the health agenda, and the links between economic and health inequalities are well established. The Marmot Review in 2011 went further in stating that: ‘So close is the link between particular social and economic features of society and the distribution of health across the population, that the magnitude of health inequalities is a good marker of progress towards creating a fairer society.’

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