January 30th, 2023

What Shapes Us?
An Open Letter from the Princess of Wales on the Importance of Early Childhood.

At Rachel Keeling we know how vital early education and the right start is for all children.  We are pleased that a well known figure such as the Princess of Wales is highlighting the importance of the right start for all children. Please read her open letter below:

This week, I am delighted to reveal, The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood will launch a major new awareness raising campaign, highlighting the critical importance the first five years of our lives have on shaping the adults we become.

During our very early childhood, our brains develop at an amazing rate – faster than any other time of our lives. Our experiences, relationships, and surroundings at that young age, shape the rest of our lives.
It is a time where we lay the foundations and building blocks for life. It is when we learn to understand ourselves, understand others and understand the world in which we live.

But as a society, we currently spend much more of our time and energy on later life.
I am absolutely determined that this long-term campaign is going to change that.
It will start by highlighting how we develop during early childhood and why these years matter so much in terms of shaping who we become.
I will be joined by a remarkable group of experts spanning science, research, policy making and front-line practice as well as an exciting group of well-known faces from music, sport and television, to show all of us, why it is in all of our interests to care about this.
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We all need to know the critical importance of our early childhood. They really are years like no other in our lives. I urge everyone reading this, to take the opportunity to learn more about this incredible time of life, to think back to your own childhood and how it shaped you, and most importantly, to ask yourselves what you can do to make the world a more supportive and loving place for our children.
Because healthy, happy children shape a healthy, happy future.