Most of the families I work with are not looking for a diagnosis. They are looking for a way to get through the week and still give their child a fair start. Prevention, in that context, is not a slogan. It is a room, a cohort, a screening that leads somewhere, and a person who comes back the next week.
In the first three years, a child’s brain is forming connections at a pace we will not see again. Early experiences — of safety, language, play, and responsive care — shape emotional regulation, learning, and relationships. Waiting until a problem is official enough to bill for is waiting too long.
Prevention changes lives. I learned that as a midwife in rural, underserved communities, and I practice it now in Houston living rooms and group rooms.
Growing Great Minds, the early childhood program I lead, is built on that belief. Families meet over weeks, not once. We cover milestones, emotional regulation, responsive parenting, and the science of stress. We also leave room for the housing question, the food question, and the “I feel like I am failing” question. Those belong in the same conversation.
Prevention is not the absence of services. It is the presence of relationship before a family is in crisis — so that when hard days come, they are not facing them alone.
