All too often, parents do not think of their 1 – 5 year old in terms of adulthood. However, it is within this age group that critical cognitive and social skills are developed as well as the framework for future tasks and adulthood. The well-being of children and what the future holds for them depends on the investment and commitment of parents in their early years. When we wisely invest in early childhood development, our return will be a generation of productivity and responsibility.

Did you ever notice how the federal government seems to spend more time and money on education, but there seems to be more need for "Special Education"? How about the increasingly amount of adults that are considered unemployable do to lack of educational and social skills? These are not the consequences of an increasing population, a soft economy, or a lack of governmental involvement. These are the results of a generation whose concern is to provide a better way of life for their family at the expense of the family.

One of the requirements for my wife to graduate from the college she attended was to participate in an internship program for one full semester. She did her internship at a pre-school where she observed a generation of children who were being raised by teachers and teacher’s aids. Though these children were preschoolers, parent teacher conferences were still held. Unfortunately the attendance from the parents was sadly low.

Daycare is certainly not bad things and in some situations they are needed. My wife and I on many occasions would help a single mom by having a child stay with us, some times over a weekend. Today these children have children of their own and interestingly enough after 30 years we occasionally receive comments of the impact my wife and I have had in their lives. But even relationships like these can never take the place of the unique bond between parent and child.

It has been said, "Children are a heritage". Heritage is defined as; something transmitted by or acquired from a predecessor. (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary) By definition it is easy to understand why there are so many struggling children in our educational system today. However, there is good news in all of this. There is a new generation of women who are choosing to be homemakers. Many are choosing to quit their jobs, even influential and high salary jobs, to stay at home and raised their children. Census bureau statistics show that there has been a 15 percent increase in the number of stay-at-home moms in the last 10 years.

There is also an upward trend among parents of introducing toys into their children daily play time that are specifically designed to foster cognitive and social skills as well as provide a foundation for sound physical and mental health. Although virtually any toy that a child engages will aid in their developmental training, educational toys by design, challenge critical thinking, expand imagination, enhance motor skills and promote learning while having fun.

The benefits of educational play during a child’s early years can provide the stimulation and experiences that create a foundation of learning and growing. As more parents grasp the idea of educational play as well as increased personal interaction with their children, we will all enjoy the benefits. It is much wiser and cost effective to invest into a child’s life today than to address the problems that could have possibly been avoided later in life.