By — Zachary Green Zachary Green Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/policies-to-reduce-child-poverty-can-help-in-their-growth-and-development-study-finds Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Policies to reduce child poverty can help in their growth and development, study finds Economy Mar 26, 2022 4:12 PM EDT The first few years of a child’s life are pivotal to growth and development. The Baby’s First Years study is examining how poverty reduction affects cognitive, emotional, and brain development in young children. In the study, 400 low-income mothers of infants were given cash payments of $333 a month. Another 600 mothers received $20 a month. Researchers found that infants in the higher cash group displayed more fast-paced brain activity than those in the lower cash group. NewsHour Weekend’s Zachary Green spoke to two researchers, Dr. Kimberly Noble and Professor Hirokazu Yoshikawa, about their findings. By — Zachary Green Zachary Green Zachary Green began working in online and broadcast news in 2009. Since then he has produced stories all over the U.S. and overseas in Ireland and Haiti. In his time at NewsHour, he has reported on a wide variety of topics, including climate change, immigration, voting rights, and the arts. He also produced a series on guaranteed income programs in the U.S. and won a 2015 National Headliner Award in business and consumer reporting for his report on digital estate planning. Prior to joining Newshour, Zachary was an Associate Producer for Need to Know on PBS, during which he assisted in producing stories on gun violence and healthcare, among others. He also provided narration for the award-winning online documentary series, “Retro Report”. @ZachGreen_News
The first few years of a child’s life are pivotal to growth and development. The Baby’s First Years study is examining how poverty reduction affects cognitive, emotional, and brain development in young children. In the study, 400 low-income mothers of infants were given cash payments of $333 a month. Another 600 mothers received $20 a month. Researchers found that infants in the higher cash group displayed more fast-paced brain activity than those in the lower cash group. NewsHour Weekend’s Zachary Green spoke to two researchers, Dr. Kimberly Noble and Professor Hirokazu Yoshikawa, about their findings.