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Over the last nine months, the pandemic has been a worrying time for us all. We haveexperienced isolation, lost, and uncertainty. But in the midst of this crisis, we have also seen huge acts of kindness, generosity and empathy. The pandemic has reminded us justhow much we value living in a world where people care for one another and the importance of feeling connected to the people around us. And it is these connection, these relationships that are found in the earlies years of our lifes.

在过去的九个月里，病毒肆虐让人忧心，我们经历了分离，感到迷失，内心充满不确定性。但与此同时，我们也被友善、慷慨和关爱包围。一场疫情让我们更加明白相互关心和彼此联结的重要性。而这种人与人之间的联结和关爱是在童年时期建立起来的。

People often wonder why I care so passionately about early years. Many mistakenly believe that my interest stems from having children of my own. And while of course I care hugely about their start of life, this ultimately sell issue short. Parenthood isn't a pre-requisite for understanding the importance of the early years. If we only expect people to take interest in the early years when they have children, we all tune in too late for them. We all under-estimate the huge role that others can play in shaping our most formative years, too. Over the last decade, I, like many of you, have met people from all walks of life. I have seen experiences such as homelessness, addiction and poor mental health, are often grounded in a difficult childhood.

很多人疑惑为什么我总是在谈童年问题。他们误以为是因为我有了自己的孩子。当然，我很在意他们，但是这种解读低估了整个问题的初衷。不一定非要为人父母才能明白童年的意义。如果人们要等到自己有了孩子才开始重视童年问题，那我们可能是在耽误孩子的时间。我们都低估了童年经历对一个人的塑造力。过去十年中，我也一样遇见了各行各业的人，目睹了流浪、成瘾和心理疾病的惨状，而这些问题大多源自糟糕的童年。

But I have also seen how positive protective effects in the early years can play a critical role in shaping our futures too. And I care hugely about this. Because the science show that the early years are more pivotal for future health and happiness than any of the parenting in our life time. Because as many as 40% of our children will arrive at school with below the expected level in their development. And because the social cost of late intervention has been estimated to be over 17 billion pounds a year. The ideas are therefore not simply just about how we raise our children, they are in fact about how we raise the next generation of adults. They are about the society we will become, which is why I wanted to start a society wide conversation to hear what people across UK think about the early years too. I was humbled that over half a million people responded to the Five Big question survey, showing just how much people wanted to talk about this. We combine these findings with national research and the covid lockdown survey. And together this represents UK's biggest ever study on the early years. These collected insights are critical and the questions they pose will guide our work in the years to come.

但是我也发现童年经历可以积极地影响孩子们，为他们塑造美好的前程。对此，我十分关注。科学发现，与任何阶段的教养相比，童年时期对未来的健康和幸福感的影响是最深远的。英国有4成儿童在刚入学的时候整体发展水平低于预期值。据估计，延迟干预将给我们增加每年超170英镑的社会负担。因此，问题并不在于如何抚养自己的孩子，而是如何为英国创造下一代接班人。他们是我们未来社会的塑造者。出于这个原因，我邀请全国的人加入到这次对话中，来分享他们对童年的看法。让我感到受宠若惊的是，超过50万人响应了这次“五大问题调查”，有那么多人愿意分享他们对童年的看法。再结合新冠隔离影响的调查，让这次行动成为英国有史以来针对童年问题最大规模的研究。我们在调查中收集到的观点至关重要，其中暴露出来的问题将指引我们未来工作的方向。

Fristly, if parents are struggling to prioritize their own well-being, how can we bettersupport them? Secondly, what is the root why parents feel so judged? Thirdly, how can we address parental lonliness, which has dramatically increase during the pandemic, particularly in the most deprived areas. And finally if less than a quarter of us understand the unique imporance of a child's first five years, what can we do to make this better known? We must do all we can to tackle these issues and to elevate the importantce of early years so that together we can build a more nuturing society. Because I believe that the early years should be on par with other great social challenges and opportunities of our time. And next year we will announce ambitious plans to support the subjective.

首先，如果父母们连自己的生活质量都无法保证，那么我们应该怎么帮助他们呢？第二，为什么那么多父母担心遭到评判？第三，我们怎样解决父母的孤独感，尤其是在疫情期间和特别贫困的区域。最后一点，如果英国只有4分之一的人意识到孩子五岁前是人生关键期，那么我们怎样才能让更多的人了解这一点？我们应竭尽所能解决这些问题，让大家提高对童问题的关注，一次建立一个能让孩子健康成长的社会环境。我认为，童年问题的不仅也是一个重大的社会问题，还是一个机遇。因此在新的一年里，我们将针对这些问题提出宏大的解决方案。

My final message is a thank you, thank you to all the families and parents and carers for the important work you do every single day in raising our children. And thank you tothose of you who have supported those families and their children too. What you do takes hard work, commitment and vision. It is a brave thing to believe in an outcome in a world even that might not be fully felt for a generation or more. But what you do isn't for the quick win, it's for the big win, it's for a happier healthier society as well as for happier healthier children. Only by working together can we bring about lasting change for the generations to come. Because I turly believe big change starts small.

最后，我想要对所有的家庭、父母和看护人员表示感谢。感谢你们每一天的付出，你们所做的一切对孩子来说至关重要。我还要感谢那些帮助过这些家庭和孩子们的人，你们的辛勤的付出、坚定的决心和坚定的志向值得被称颂。这些努力可能需要几代人的接力才能显示出效果，因此坚持下去是需要勇气的。但是请相信，你们的努力不是为了快速地赢得一场比赛，而是为了更远大的胜利，是为了一个健康幸福的社会，和健康幸福的孩子们。只有全社会携手才能给后继者带来长久的改变。我相信，千里之行始于足下。