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December 13, 2016

Dunedin Study: Intervene Before Age Three

Research now being publicised backs up what I've been banging on about for a long time. Get children early enough and you save yourself a lot of money and the children who benefit the most are those most at risk.

We need to stop building more institutions, that is outdated thinking. We need to get children engaged with learning, and look after their circumstances, providing nourishment, shelter, caring, aspirations, and healthcare. By doing that we can turn things around and prevent any future crime wave.

We need to stop this ambulance at the bottom of the cliff thinking. The work is done early, certainly by the time the child starts school. Parents need support, and we need the community to get in behind this effort; not just social workers who have a dubious record themselves. I'm talking neighbours, teachers, church leaders, sport coaches, you name it.

I think this starts at birth and children need to be registered in the system, all children, no exceptions, and get them along to sports or other community events to begin with. The parents also need the jobs to fund their involvement, and this means meaningful pay, not the minimum slave type wage conditions many endure. If you want to see evidence of how this works then go to Porirua. The place is buzzing with life, and I put this down to employment and education.

Educate + Health + Employment + Community = Good things happen.


https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/dec/12/high-social-cost-adults-can-be-identified-from-as-young-as-three-says-study

The study, which followed around 1,000 children from birth, found that at 38 years of age just 22% of the group accounted for 81% of its criminal convictions, 78% of pharmaceutical prescriptions, and 66% of welfare benefits

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