Kate Middleton is right – our misunderstanding of children’s early years development is dangerous

The learning that takes place in children’s first five years has an immense impact on their future lives, says Brett Wigdortz. Yet the importance of these early years is routinely ignored

The Duchess of Cambridge (Kensington Palace)

On Friday, the royal family hit headlines and it had nothing to do with The Crown. On 27 November, the Duchess of Cambridge released a landmark report, commissioned by the Royal Foundation and conducted by Ipsos Mori, on attitudes and understanding around early years development and parenting.

In addition to publishing research on the loneliness and mental health of parents, the study revealed crucial insights about public knowledge of children’s early years. Whilst almost all (98 per cent) of those surveyed believed that nurture was essential to a child’s lifelong outcomes, only one in four recognised the specific importance of the first five years to a child’s lifetime health and happiness.  

To those who don’t work in the early years sector, these figures might not mean too much. But they’re a stark indication of the severe lack of understanding around under-5s development. This isn’t to point the finger at individual parents – they’re under extreme pressure as it is – but these stats should be a wake-up call to society that something desperately needs to change. Because this misunderstanding around early years development isn’t just unfortunate – it’s downright dangerous.