The Brain Architects Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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In December 2023, we continued our Place Matters webinar series with our second installment: “Understanding Racism’s Impact on Child Development: Working Towards Fairness of Place in the United States.” During the webinar, Stephanie Curenton, PhD, Nathaniel Harnett, PhD, Mavis Sanders, PhD, and Natalie Slopen, ScD, discussed their latest research, exploring how racism gets “under the skin” to impact children’s development and how it contributes to unequal access to opportunity in the places where children live, grow, play, and learn. Together, they explored ways to dismantle systemic barriers and work toward solutions that promote healthy child development. The webinar discussion has been adapted for this episode of the Brain Architects podcast. 















Additional Resources







Place Matters: The Environment We Create Shapes the Foundations of Healthy Development

Moving Upstream: Confronting Racism to Open Up Children’s Potential

Priorities for Child Trends’ Applied Research Agenda on Black Children and Families - Child Trends

A Bibliographic Tool on Protective Community Resources for Children and Youth - Child Trends

Black Children and Youth Can Benefit From Focused Research on Protective Community Resources - Child Trends

Black Adolescents Are More Likely to Flourish in Neighborhoods Featuring Four Key Amenities - Child Trends







Transcript

 



Cameron Seymour-Hawkins: Welcome to The Brain Architects, a podcast from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. I’m Cameron Seymour-Hawkins, the Center’s Communications Coordinator.Our Center believes that advances in the science of child development provide a powerful source of new ideas that can improve outcomes for children and their caregivers. By sharing the latest science from the field, we hope to help you make that science actionable and apply it in your work in ways that can increase your impact.



In December, we continued our Place Matters webinar series with our second installment: “Understanding Racism’s Impact on Child Development: Working Towards Fairness of Place in the United States.” During the webinar, Doctors Stephanie Curenton, Nathaniel Harnett, Mavis Sanders, and Natalie Slopen, discussed their latest research, exploring how racism gets “under the skin” to impact children’s development and how it contributes to unequal access to opportunity in the places where children live, grow, play, and learn. Together, they explored ways to dismantle systemic barriers and work toward solutions that promote healthy child development. We’re excited to share this conversation on today’s episode of the Brain Architects podcast.



Now, without further ado, here’s Tassy Warren, the Center’s Deputy Director and Chief Strategy Officer, who will set the stage for our conversation.



Tassy Warren: Hello. Welcome to today's webinar. Understanding Racism's Impact on Child Development. Working towards fairness of place in the United States. We're so excited to bring you into this conversation. Whether you're joining us for the first time or are a regular to the Center on the Developing Child, thank you for being here today. This webinar is part of our Place Matters Webinar series. The series is designed to expand upon our Center's recent work on how influences from our environments, particularly the built in natural environments, play a role in shaping early childhood development beginning before birth. Throughout this series, we're highlighting scientific and community expertise and offering strategies to work towards fairness of place and to create the conditions that will allow all children to thrive.

Contents

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Panelists

Additional Resources

Transcript





 



In the fall of 2023, we kicked off our three-part Place Matters webinar series with our first installment: “A New Lens on Poverty: Working Towards Fairness of Place in the United States.” The webinar discussion featured the work of Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH, FAAP, whose research uncovered the water crisis in Flint, H. Luke Shaefer, PhD, co-author of the new book The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America, and their groundbreaking new program, RxKids, an innovative effort to address child poverty and improve health equity. This conversation, moderated by our Chief Science Officer, Lindsey Burghardt, MD, MPH, FAAP, has been adapted for the Brain Architects podcast.  









Panelists





Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH, FAAPFounding Director, Pediatric Public Health Initiative 



H. Luke Shaefer, PhDProfessor of Public Policy and Director of Policy Solutions, University of Michigan 



Lindsey C. Burghardt, MD, MPH, FAAP (Moderator)Chief Science Officer, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University



Rebecca Hansen, MFA (Webinar Host)Director of Communications, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University



Amelia Johnson (Podcast Host)Communications Specialist, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University









Additional Resources







Place Matters: The Environment We Create Shapes the Foundations of Healthy Development

RxKids

The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America

What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City







Transcript

Amelia Johnson: Welcome to The Brain Architects, a podcast from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. I’m Amelia Johnson, the Center’s Communications Specialist. Our Center believes that advances in the science of child development provide a powerful source of new ideas that can improve outcomes for children and their caregivers. By sharing the latest science from the field, we hope to help you make that science actionable and apply it in your work in ways that can increase your impact. 



In October, we kicked off our three-part Place Matters webinar series with our first installment: “A New Lens on Poverty: Working Towards Fairness of Place in the United States.” During the webinar, Dr. Lindsey Burghardt, our Chief Science Officer, moderated a discussion between Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, whose research uncovered the water crisis in Flint, and H. Luke Shaefer, co-author of the new book The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America. The resulting explores how the qualities of the places where people live are shaped by historic and current policies, which have created deep disadvantage across many communities with important implications for the health and development of the children who live there. We’re happy to share these insights with you all on today’s episode. 



Now, without further ado, here’s Rebecca Hansen, the Center’s Director of Communications, who will set the stage with a brief overview of the webinar series. 



Rebecca Hansen: Alright, hello, everyone. My name is Rebecca Hansen, and I'm the Director of Communications here at the Center on the Developing Child. And I'm very excited to welcome you all to today's webinar, A New Lens on Poverty: Working Toward Fairness of Place in the United States. This webinar is the first in an ongoing series designed to examine the many ways that a child's broader environment, including the built and natural environments, as well as the systemic factors that shape those environments,

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In June, we hosted a webinar about our latest Working Paper, Place Matters: The Environment We Create Shapes the Foundations of Healthy Development, which examines how a wide range of conditions in the places where children live, grow, play, and learn can shape how children develop. The paper examines the many ways in which the built and natural environment surrounding a child can affect their development, emphasizes how the latest science can help deepen our understanding, and points towards promising opportunities to re-design environments so that all children can grow up in homes and neighborhoods free of hazards and rich with opportunity. Corey Zimmerman, our Chief Program Officer, moderated a discussion around these themes between Dr. Lindsey Burghardt (Chief Science Officer) and Dr. Dominique Lightsey-Joseph (Director of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Strategy) which has been adapted for this episode of the Brain Architects podcast.  



 









Panelists





Tassy Warren, EdM (Podcast Host)Deputy Director and Chief Strategy Officer, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University



Corey Zimmerman, EdM (Moderator)Chief Program Officer, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University



Lindsey C. Burghardt, MD, MPH, FAAPChief Science Officer, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University



Dominique Lightsey-Joseph, EdD, EdMDirector of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) Strategy, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University









Additional Resources







Place Matters: The Environment We Create Shapes the Foundations of Healthy Development

Place Matters: An Action Guide for Policy

Place Matters: What Surrounds Us Shapes Us

Child Opportunity Index (COI)

Healthy School Environments - US Environmental Protection Agency









Transcript

Tassy Warren: Welcome to The Brain Architects, a podcast from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. I’m Tassy Warren, the Center’s Deputy Director and Chief Strategy Officer. Our Center believes that advances in the science of child development provide a powerful source of new ideas that can improve outcomes for children and their caregivers. By sharing the latest science from the field, we hope to help you make that science actionable and apply it in your work in ways that can increase your impact.



In June, we hosted a webinar about our latest Working Paper, Place Matters: The Environment We Create Shapes the Foundations of Healthy Development, which examines how a wide range of conditions in the places where children live, grow, play, and learn can shape how childre



During the webinar, Corey Zimmerman, our Chief Program Officer, moderated a discussion around these themes between Dr. Lindsey Burghardt (Chief Science Officer) and Dr. Dominique Lightsey-Joseph (Director of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Strategy) which we're happy to share with you all on today’s episode. To access the full Working Paper and related publications, please visit our website at developingchild.harvard.edu.



Now, without further ado, here’s Corey Zimmerman.



 



Corey Zimmerman: Hi, everybody. Welcome. I'm Corey Zimmerman. I'm the Chief Program Officer here at the Center on the Developing Child, and today we're going to be discussing a paper, the name of it is Place Matters: The Environment We Create Shapes the Foundation of Healthy Development. This paper was written by our National Scientific Council on Developing Child and was released earlier this year in March.

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In April, we hosted a webinar about the recently released IDEAS Impact Framework Toolkit—a free online resource designed to help innovators in the field of early childhood build improved programs and products that are positioned to achieve greater impact in their communities. During the webinar, we provided an overview of the site and had the opportunity to hear from two organizations in the field about how they leveraged the toolkit and its resources to shape their work: Valley Settlement and Raising a Reader. This episode of the Brain Architects podcast features highlights from the webinar. If you’re interested in hearing a full walk through of the toolkit by the Director of our Pediatric Innovation Initiative, Dr. Melanie Berry, please head over to our YouTube channel to view the full webinar recording.







Panelists





Aeshna Badruzzaman, PhD (Moderator)Senior Project Manager for Instructional Design, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University



Melanie Berry, PsyDDirector of the Pediatric Innovation Initiative, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University



Sally Boughton, MNMDirector of Development & Communications at Valley Settlement



Andres Garcia Lopez, EdM, MBASenior Project Manager, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University



Karla ReyesProgram Manager of El Busesito Mobile Preschool Program at Valley Settlement



Michelle Sioson HymanSenior Vice President, Programs and Partnerships at Raising a Reader



Corey Zimmerman, EdM (Podcast Host)Chief Program Officer, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University













Additional Resources









IDEAS Framework Toolkit

Valley Settlement

Raising a Reader









Transcript

Corey Zimmerman: Welcome to the Brain Architects, a podcast from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. I'm Corey Zimmerman, the Center's Chief Program Officer. Our Center believes that advances in the science of child development provide a powerful source of new ideas that can improve outcomes for children and their caregivers. By sharing the latest science from the field, we hope to help you make that science actionable, and apply it in your work in ways that can increase your impact.



With that goal in mind, the Center recently released the IDEAS Impact Framework Toolkit—a free online resource designed to help innovators in the field of early childhood build improved programs and products that are positioned to achieve greater impact in their communities. The Toolkit is self-guided, self-paced, and provides a structured and flexible approach that facilitates program development, evaluation, and fast-cycle iteration, including resources to help teams develop and investigate a clear and precise Theory of Change.



In April, we hosted a webinar about the toolkit, where we provided an overview of the site and had the opportunity to hear from teams at several organizations in the field about how they leveraged the toolkit and its resources to shape their work. We’re excited to share those discussions with you here on this episode of the Brain Architects podcast. If you’re interested in hearing a full walk through of the toolkit, by the Director of our Pediatric Innovation Initiative, Dr. Melanie Berry, please head over to our YouTube channel to view the full webinar recording. You’ll also hear from Dr. Melanie Berry during the Q&A portion.



The full IDEAS toolkit we’ll be talking about today can be found at ideas.developingchild.harvard.edu. And now, without further ado, here’s Dr. Aeshna Badruzzaman,

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These days, resilience is needed more than ever, and one simple, underrecognized way of supporting healthy and resilient child development is as old as humanity itself: play. Far from frivolous, play contributes to sturdy brain architecture, the foundations of lifelong health, and the building blocks of resilience, yet its importance is often overlooked. In this podcast, Dr. Jack Shonkoff explains the role of play in supporting resilience and five experts share their ideas and personal stories about applying the science of play in homes, communities, and crisis environments around the world.





Panelists





Andres Bustamante, Assistant Professor, University of California Irvine School of Education



Laura Huerta Migus, Deputy Director, Office of Museum Services at Institute for Museum and Library Services



Lynneth Solis, Researcher and lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education



Erum Mariam, Executive Director, BRAC Institute of Educational Development, BRAC University



Michael Yogman, Pediatrician, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge Hospital









Additional Resources

Resources from the Center on the Developing Child







Video: Play in Early Childhood: The Role of Play in Any Setting

Video: How-to: 5 Steps for Brain-Building Serve and Return

Handout: 5 Steps for Brain-Building Serve and Return

Video: Building Babies’ Brains Through Play: Mini Parenting Master Class (from UNICEF)

Report: Three Principles to Improve Outcomes for Children and Families

InBrief: The Science of Resilience







Resources from Our Guests

Panel







Learning to Cope through Play

UCI STEM Learning Lab

Playful Learning Landscapes

Understanding the Social Wellbeing Impacts of the Nation's Libraries and Museums







Play in Humanitarian Settings







5 Takeaways from Supporting Refugee Parents to Help Children Learn and Thrive During Covid-19

BRAC Humanitarian Play Lab: when playing becomes healing

BRAC: ECD and Play

“I try to take their pain away through play”: A healing experiment in Rohingya refugee camps (Quartz: membership required)







Prescription for Play







The Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children

Preventing Childhood Toxic Stress: Partnering with Families and Communities to Promote Relational Health







Transcript

Sally Pfitzer, host: Welcome to the Brain Architects, a podcast from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. I’m your host, Sally Pfitzer. Our Center believes that advances in science can provide a powerful source of new ideas that can improve outcomes for children and families. We want to help you apply the science of early childhood development to your everyday interactions with children and take what you’re hearing from our experts and panels and apply it to your everyday work.



So in today’s episode, we’re going to get serious about the topic of play. For children, play is a fundamental building block of child development, but its role in supporting resilience is often overlooked. And after the past few years, we surely need resilience now more than ever! For me, as a former preschool teacher, I’m especially excited about this episode and speaking with today’s experts, because I’ve seen first-hand how important play is for young children’s development. But what can science tell us about it? And what can be done to support more play in everyday life,

The devastating toll of the pandemic has underscored the critical importance of connecting what science is telling us to the lived experiences of people and communities. In March of 2020, we recorded episodes exploring the impact the coronavirus pandemic could have on child development. Now, a year later, we wanted to continue these conversations and discuss what we've learned, what needs to change, and where we go from here.





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In the final episode in this special series, host Sally Pfitzer speaks with Dr. Nancy Rotter, a pediatric psychologist and the Director of Psychology in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ambulatory Care Division at Massachusetts General Hospital. They discuss how the pandemic changed conversations around mental health, why we need to integrate mental health into the context of overall health, and what caregivers can do to help children prepare for the lessening of restrictions and the return to school.



Subscribe below via your podcast platform of choice to receive all new episodes as soon as they’re released.









Speakers





Sally Pfitzer, Podcast Host



Dr. Nancy Rotter, Pediatric Psychologist and Director of Psychology, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ambulatory Care Division at Massachusetts General Hospital; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School









Additional Resources

Resources from the Center on the Developing Child







The Brain Architects Podcast: COVID-19 Special Edition: Mental Health in a Locked-Down World

Q&A: The Coronavirus Pandemic: Mental Health One Year Later

Re-Envisioning, Not Just Rebuilding: Looking Ahead to a Post-COVID-19 World

Working Paper 15: Connecting the Brain to the Rest of the Body: Early Childhood Development and Lifelong Health Are Deeply Intertwined

InBrief: Connecting the Brain to the Rest of the Body

A Guide to COVID-19 and Early Childhood Development Resources







Resources recommended by Dr. Nancy Rotter







Interim Guidance on Supporting the Emotional and Behavioral Health Needs of Children, Adolescents and Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mothers—and fathers—report mental, physical health declines

Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Update

Depression and anxiety in pregnancy during COVID-19: A rapid review and meta-analysis

COVID-19's Disproportionate Effects on Children of Color Will Challenge the Next Generation

A Guide to Mental Health Resources for COVID-19

How to Talk to Your Children About the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Preparing Children for When Their Parents Return to Work

National Alliance on Mental Health: Mental Health By the Numbers







Transcript

Sally: Welcome to The Brain Architects, a podcast from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. I'm your host Sally Pfitzer. In March of 2020, we recorded episodes exploring the impact the coronavirus pandemic could have on child development. You may remember we discussed the importance of self-care for caregivers, and the importance of physical distancing, not social distancing.  And now a year later, we wanted to continue those conversations and discuss what we've learned, what needs to change, and where we go from here.



Joining us on today's podcast, we have Dr. Nancy Rotter. She's a pediatric psychologist and the Director of Psychology in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ambulatory Care Division, at Mass General Hospital. Thanks so much for being with us today, Nancy.



Dr. Rotter: Thanks for having me, Sally.



Sally: So,