Let’s put the First Years First

First Years First: It’s the new name of the Canadian Paediatric Society’s early years program, and also a rallying cry to clinicians and policymakers about the importance of early childhood.

The CPS launched the program in November with a series of web resources designed to help clinicians incorporate the latest evidence about the importance of the early years into their practice.

“First Years First builds on the wealth of scientific evidence that shows early experiences have a lasting and far-reaching impact on health, development, and later life,” said Dr. Robin Williams, Vice President of the CPS, and Chair of the Early Years Task Force. “Focusing on the first days, months, and years of life is not only in the best interests of children and their families, it’s good for society.”

The website includes links to clinical tools, community resources, information for parents and caregivers, and advocacy documents. It also features a video of a symposium recorded in June during the CPS annual conference, where Dr. Emmett Francoeur of the Montreal Children’s Hospital and Dr. Jean Clinton of McMaster University discuss the development of the social brain, new evidence of environment’s impact on genes and development, and practical methods of applying this information in the clinical exam of the newborn.

The late Dr. Clyde Hertzman, a founding member of the CPS Early Years Task Force and a driving force behind this strategy, described how early experiences leave a biological imprint: “Early in life, the environment talks to genes and the genes listen,” he wrote.

Through First Years First, the CPS plans to develop additional education and advocacy tools to encourage a focus on early childhood in the clinical setting and in the policy arena.

First Years First is supported in part by an unrestricted educational grant from P&G.

For more information, visit www.cps.ca/en/first-debut.

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