A/HRC/37/48 increase national wealth while reducing the social expenditures incurred in dealing with the long-term consequences of violence in childhood. 119. Early childhood is where violence prevention must begin and where investment can achieve a very high return. 120. A nurturing and caring environment helps to secure children’s health, nutrition, early learning and sense of belonging. It promotes their self-esteem and improves their ability to handle stress and adversity. Scientific evidence shows that the human brain develops wider and faster during its first 1,000 days than at any other stage of life, and that it is during this crucial developmental period that the foundation for a person’s future well-being is laid. 121. Early childhood is, however, still seen primarily as a period of transition towards adult life, and young children are perceived as “not-yet persons” or “people in the making”. There is insufficient awareness of the negative impact that violence has on children’s health and development, and of the social returns from investment in a violence-free early childhood. 122. Children are often exposed to violence early in life, and it is during infancy that it has its most devastating and long-lasting impact on a child’s development, with consequences that persist into adulthood. 123. As highlighted by UNICEF, close to 300 million children experience psychological aggression and/or physical punishment by their caregivers at home. Six in ten children aged 12 to 23 months are subject to violent disciplinary practices, and almost half endure physical punishment. In certain countries, shouting, yelling or screaming are common forms of discipline for one-year-olds, and 176 million children under five years of age witness domestic violence.18 124. In its major 2016 series on early childhood, the Lancet estimated that 250 million children younger than five years of age in low and middle-income countries risked falling short of their potential because of the adversities that they faced in their early years. 19 Investing in the physical, cognitive, emotional and social capacities of these children is a key factor in their development. 125. Early childhood interventions may cost as little as $0.50 per child per year when combined with existing services. Lack of investment in early years may, however, hold children back before they reach school age, leading them to endure a lifetime of disadvantage. A poor start in life can lead to a loss of about a quarter of average adult income per year. In addition, countries may forfeit as much as two times their current expenditures of GDP on health and education.20 126. The vital importance for child development of a nurturing and caring environment with good health, sound nutrition and stimulation is well established. Promoting positive attachments with caregivers helps children to develop resilience in the face of adversity, while early childhood interventions protect children against stress, laying the foundation for learning at home and at school. 127. It is also a known fact that children subjected to violence, abuse and neglect in early childhood are more likely to display a range of pathologies in later life, including poor school performance and a greater probability of dropping out, anxiety and depression, ill health, risky behaviour, and self-harm. 18 19 20 UNICEF, A Familiar Face: Violence in the lives of children and adolescents (UNICEF, New York, 2017). Advancing Early Childhood Development: from Science to Scale, Lancet, October 2016. Ibid. 19