Early education is an investment in families and Indiana’s economy

The economics of child care dominates the public conversation about learning in the early years. And for a good reason. Accessible child care is an essential part of a thriving economy.  

However, amidst the debate over how to address the high cost of child care, we cannot lose sight of why this even matters. At its core, this is about the significance of early education and how it adds value to the lives of young children in Indiana.   

This is a pivotal time in a child’s development, when the foundation for all future learning is laid. Research is clear – a child’s capacity for learning begins in their earliest days and by the time they reach the age of five, the brain will be 90% developed.  Unfortunately, the available data shows that we’re not meeting the mark for our children.  

The early literacy and math skills that children have when they enter kindergarten are highly predictive of their reading and math achievement in school. But Indiana’s most recently published Kindergarten Readiness Indicator, a truncated assessment of 4-year-olds in Indiana’s On My Way Pre-K program revealed 37% of children participating did not perform at or above any of the four assessed oral language and literacy skills, and almost half of children (47%) did not perform at or above target on either of the two assessed math skills.  

Understanding these early gaps also raises an important question: where and how are young children learning during their earliest years? 

There are 471,000 children birth to age 5 in Indiana and more than two-thirds of them live in homes where all adults are working, which indicates the majority of Hoosier children spend their days in the care of someone other than their parent.  Where children spend their time is where they are educated.  Learning can take place in an early learning classroom, during a bedtime story, through a hands‑on activity at the local library or even while waiting in line at the grocery store.  

Each of us can play a role to ensure that children are growing up in environments that are safe, engaging and nurturing, where curiosity is encouraged and relationships are strong.  

Young children learn through simple, everyday moments, and the interactions they have with adults play a powerful role in building school readiness. A brief back‑and‑forth conversation helps strengthen language, spark curiosity and build early literacy skills. Counting and sorting blocks build early math skills. Working on a puzzle helps build critical thinking skills and perseverance.  

A strong start grows from purposeful interactions that allow children to explore, ask questions, solve problems and communicate with others. 

The debate about how to solve the problems facing our broken early education system is both necessary and urgent.  

If we want better outcomes for children, families and our state, we must recognize learning begins at birth and work together—as families, the nonprofit and philanthropic communities, businesses and government—to put our youngest Hoosiers on a path for success in the future. We have a choice—we can treat “child care” as a short-term convenience for families and employers, or we can make early learning a foundational investment in our children and the state’s long-term academic and economic success.