Canada is failing its children and needs a national plan to give kids the best start, according to a leading expert in child development.
Dr. Fraser Mustard, a world leader in the science of early childhood education, was in Ottawa Wednesday and told a crowd of community leaders that children who don't get the right nurturing, nutrition, socialization, and education from the earliest age are destined to be left behind.
"People do not understand developmental neurobiology and what the hell that really means about your competence later in life," said Mustard.
"Your function as an adult will be dependent upon how your neurobiology develops when you are very young."
Child care workers 'ashamed'
Those who work in the field said Canada should be ashamed of the lack of investment they make in our children.
"We have a very wealthy country and we should be ashamed of ourselves for not putting our priorities in the right place," said Cindy Magloughlin of the Dalhousie Daycare Centre.
"It's embarrassing to me to hear about countries that don't have our wealth that are able to do that, so we really need to find a way to start doing this," added Karen Baker-Anderson of Ottawa's Inuit Child Care Centre.
Invest now, says Mustard
Mustard, who advocates for a national early learning system that all children have access to, whether they're in daycare or at home, said it's imperative Canada invest in children and child care policies now, before it's too late.
"When I look at this country, we are sluggish, we are not really making that investment," said Mustard. "You are not going to succeed in this century unless you correct that."
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Natalie Pierosara
