Professors Essi Viding and Eamon McCrory delivered a neuroscientific perspective on the issue and Professor John Hobcraft gave his viewpoint from longitudinal studies in childhood and parenting. Chaired by Professor Stephen Scott, the event came to a close with a few key points:

• We need to be modest about what we know.
• The brain is particularly responsive to environments and experiences during early development.
• Brain development is not on a fixed trajectory after the first two years of life.
• There is evidence of continued malleability of the brain during adolescence.
• Positive and negative parenting matter a great deal for subsequent child outcomes.
• Interventions need to be holistic and cross-generational including parent and child.

Watch a short interview with John Hobcraft as he addresses the significance of development in the first two years, and the need for future knowledge.