ATTENTION:

Join the Early Childhood community on 11 and 12 December 2025 for the ‘REACH’ conference, where we will bring together researchers in the field of Early Childhood to share experiences and knowledge. During the conference you will take part in inspiring interdisciplinary discussions and become part of our interdisciplinary network of Early Childhood researchers at Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht. For more information, visit our website: https://reach-uu.nl/

The time from conception to toddlerhood is critical to brain development, language acquisition, motor skills, and the social, emotional and cognitive skills that children need to interact and play with others.

Early childhood marks the occurrence of many milestones and offers myriad opportunities to increase the odds of favourable development through prevention and intervention efforts in different social contexts, including the family, childcare, pre-school education and neighbourhoods.

Scientific evidence, including the groundbreaking work of DoY researchers within our communities have generated a much deeper appreciation of the importance of (very) early life experiences and the interaction between genes, individuals, and environments on child development and the unfolding of human behaviour over the course of a life.