Technological Interventions in Early Childhood: Opportunities and Experiences in Latin America

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Early childhood is the most important growth period in human development. During these early years, children develop physically, mentally, and emotionally, so much so that by the age of five, the brain architecture is 90 percent developed. What happens at this stage, whether in health, nutrition, cognitive or emotional development, has lifelong consequences.

In the last 15 years, there has been some progress in Latin America regarding early childhood development policies. Several countries in the region have developed comprehensive early childhood agreements, strategies, or national plans for early childhood, which shows the recognition of the region's governments on the subject. At the same time, there has been a broad expansion in access to preschool education. Collaboration has begun to consolidate among different actors interested in comprehensive early childhood development, such as civil society and the private sector. However, there are still major challenges in terms of quality and equity in terms of policy implementation. It is essential to continue promoting and alerting about the importance of early childhood development as a priority of the public agenda in all region countries.

The issue of the use of technology in early childhood remains controversial. On the one hand, it provides opportunities for access to information, training, learning, and support networks, among other possibilities. In addition, parents and caregivers can access information on how to support their children's development, use parenting support networks, and receive immunization reminder alerts on their cell phones. Teachers, on their part, have access to materials for their classes. On the other hand, some advise caution, especially in innovations whose main users are children.

Technological interventions in early childhood can be a valuable tool to improve children's development. Still, it is crucial to implement them safely and responsibly, following the recommendations and guidelines established by experts. At the same time, it is an area in constant change and growth, so it is crucial to continue efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of these innovations.

In this report, we explore the potential of technology for early years support and development, basing this analysis on an investigation of 21 cases from Latin America that employ various technological tools such as general mobile and instant messaging applications, data management systems (SIGED), robots, medical devices, databases, chatbots and augmented reality devices. We also offer a series of recommendations to replicate, scale, and improve these efforts throughout the region.

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