One gain? Kids from the program were four times as
likely to graduate from college. The kids in the treatment group were no
smarter. But you could measure their performance in class, and later ratings of
how successful they are in controlling their anger, dealing with their fellow
students, negotiating with each other. Economists calculated all the costs and
benefits years later. The Canadians also
studied the Child Parent Center, a special half-day pilot program for
low-income preschool children in Chicago. The net return to society in reduced
social costs alone from the Chicago program was more than $, per child.
Bouchard, “It was pretty clear that in applying that type of social programs we
would have success in diminishing the vulnerability of our children ( raising children).”
It was inspiring also because the methodology was
beautiful. Bouchard and his team looked to the U.S. research and asked
themselves “Could investing in young children and their families improve
personal outcomes and reap economic benefits in Quebec?” They were convinced it
could, and released a report with
recommendations. Bouchard, “But the main thrust of it was that we were
to approach the problems well before they manifest themselves, well before.” We
had decided that the government should invest in the period from to . If you had to choose, this is where you
had to start with. When Bouchard and his team released the report in , the
public reaction was ecstatic. Bouchard, “The title of the report was kind of
smashing – ‘We're Crazy About Our Kids,’ Québec Fou de Ses Enfants. I was just
astonished at how many reporters, from all over the place was at the press
conference, for a governmental report.” And there was something special, there
was a buzz around the title ( raising children).
Advocates for children were galvanized. Bouchard,
“We met with very, very, very involved people and interested people in the
community. They had read the report, they were ready to do something. And there
was an enormous pressure on the government to create something significant.” If you just put the report on the table and
then say to government “You should do that,” and go to fishing or hunting or to
do something else, it won't happen. You have to have a constituency around the
report. It was, like, little projects for a couple of months and after that,
they wouldn't have any money to continue. So it was step-by-step asking the
government to put in place a real strong system ( raising children).
This is Adam Norman, a 30-year-old father and a journalist. I consider being a father as my full-time duty, which comes before my actual job of journalism. As a father, there will always be new challenges for me to face everyday while raising my kids. This is where the idea of this website came from. I wanted to give out my experience, along with the experience of others, to all parents out there who need an advice with raising their kids.
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