WHY POLICIES MATTER
Policies Shape Environments
Children and adolescents develop in an environment of relationships and resources across our communities. Our state and local policies shape those environments. Every policy we set should promote healthy development and reduce unnecessary burdens on children and the adults in their lives.
Maryland Essentials for Childhood focuses on six policy areas that have a proven, powerful effect on child and adolescent development.
Strengthen economic supports for families.
Financial hardship is a significant source of stress, which can cause or compound depression, anxiety and challenges in relationships. When families and caregivers are under severe stress, it can overload their abilities to provide children with safe, stable and nurturing environments.
On the other hand, policies that strengthen families’ financial security and increase family income can reduce stress and increase families’ ability to meet children’s needs.
Ensure a strong start for children.
From the earliest stages of life, children’s brains are being built from interactions with the environments where they grow, learn and play. People and relationships are part of children’s environments, including parents, siblings, extended families, childcare providers, medical care providers and more.
Together, these experiences and exposures shape the quality of brain architecture and establish either a sturdy or a fragile foundation for all the learning, health and behavior that follow. Policies and programs that promote sturdy brain architecture equip children to thrive and benefit us all in the long run.
Connect youth to caring adults and activities.
Close connections with adults, near-peers and peers help young people cultivate their abilities to shape their own lives, build resilience and thrive. When youth encounter adverse experiences or environments, developmental relationships can buffer young people from long-term negative effects.
Policies and programs that connect youth to caring adults and purposeful activities help young people discover who they are, cultivate the ability to shape their own lives and destinies and learn how to positively contribute to the world.
Respond responsibly to lessen harm.
When children and youth experience serious adversity, we have a shared responsibility to buffer the impact. There are many approaches to doing this, but all work from the basic idea that adding positive supports can counterbalance the weight of negative experiences. While it’s always better to prevent adversity from happening in the first place, we can’t always do that. That’s why we need our systems to be prepared to respond when harmful events do occur.
Promote social norms that protect young people.
Witnessing or experiencing violence can be especially harmful to young people, yet it’s common to encounter images and attitudes that suggest it’s no big deal. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can change social norms that expose children and adolescents to violence, hostility, and abuse.
That’s why we support approaches that promote healthy ideas about relationships and better ways to resolve conflicts.
Teach skills.
When children, adolescents, and parents learn effective ways to handle stress, resolve conflicts and manage their emotions and behaviors, they are better equipped to manage difficult situations in safe, healthy ways.
Programs that teach social and emotional skills have been proven to lead to less violence in schools, greater gains in academic learning and more stable, peaceful family dynamics.