Nurturing minds: Judy Bailey on the importance of the early years

As co-founder of Brainwave Trust Aotearoa, Judy Bailey knows that the early years of a child’s life are crucial when it comes to brain development. Here, she shares her passion for helping Kiwi parents give their children the best start in life. 

When Judy Bailey gazes into the eyes of her newest grandchild Romy, it’s not just the 6-month-old’s chubby cheeks or the hilarious raspberries she’s learnt to blow that melt her heart. No, this devoted grandmother – or Juju as she’s fondly known by her 8 grandchildren – can’t help but revel in the miracle that is going on inside Romy’s brain. Judy knows that every smile, every cuddle and every tiny moment of connection is firing up her neurodevelopment and setting her up for the best possible start in life. 

“That first year is so precious in terms of human development because their brains are like little sponges,” says the former broadcaster, who’s talking to us today about Brainwave Trust Aotearoa, an organisation that she co-founded 27 years ago, and that is now supported by MAS Foundation. “Babies soak up everything from their environment, the good and the bad, and that directly impacts the way their brains develop. We’ve always known that it’s important to nurture babies and to respond to their needs, but to have a relationship that makes a physical difference to the wiring of the brain is miraculous, I think.” 

Why the early years?

Judy might be a national treasure, our ‘mother of the nation’ and one of this country’s best-known and loved newsreaders, but she would much rather talk about the science behind developing brains than her years on the screen. It’s 30 years since she became interested in the importance of the early years in human development, and she’s as committed to the cause now as she was then. 

“Passionate is such an overworked word these days, but it really has been a passion of mine for a very long time, and I bend anybody’s ear who will listen about it,” says Judy, talking to onMAS at the Auckland home she shares with her husband Chris. The pair have been married for over 50 years and are parents to James, 45, Sam, 41, and Gemma, 37, as well as the very proud grandparents of Harry, 18, Sadie, 14, Mila, 13, Hudson, 12, Macy, 11, Billie, 8, Murphy, 7, and baby Romy, who all live nearby. It’s clear that family is Judy’s number one priority, both in the immediate sense and in a wider capacity in her charity work. She has also had a long association with Women’s Refuge. 

Judy tells us her interest in neurodevelopment came about in the 1990s, when she was a busy mum of 3 and full-time broadcaster, delivering the 6 o’clock bulletin each night alongside Richard Long on ‘One Network News’. Judy was struck by the number of devastating reports of child abuse and neglect in Aotearoa New Zealand, and she would go home to her own happy, healthy children feeling a sense of despair that such things were happening. She wondered how such abuse could occur, and why some people appeared to have such a lack of empathy and remorse. 

“Night after night I was delivering these horrific stories into the nation’s living rooms. And often it was people who should have been their greatest protectors who were the perpetrators. It played on my mind, it really did.” 

It was around this time that Judy was invited to join the board of an international conference on child abuse in Auckland. She’s still not quite sure why she was included, perhaps the organisers were looking for someone with a high profile, she muses. Either way, she was very keen to join the conversation. 

What spurred Judy into action 

It was during a talk by US psychiatrist, neuroscientist and trauma expert Dr Bruce Perry, in which he shared new research on early brain development, that Judy became “galvanised”. While the ‘nature versus nurture’ debate had been going on for generations, Dr Perry’s evidence showed that emotionally responsive nurture, particularly from birth to around 3, was vital for the healthy development of the brain. In simple terms, it proved that love, care and strong connection to the caregiver in the first years of life could directly affect the way the brain develops, affecting future outcomes. Tamariki who did not have their emotional needs met in a warm and responsive way were at a developmental disadvantage from the very beginning. 

“People were breaking down the doors to get into his presentations and workshops because he was the go-to guy on the topic,” says Judy. “And so, I was there and I heard him speak and the rest is history, really. He was galvanising. He just galvanised us all into action.” 

By “us” Judy means herself, the late New Plymouth paediatrician Dr Robin Fancourt, social advocate Dame Lesley Max, and then-Commissioner for Children Sir Ian Hassall. The group might have come from different backgrounds, but they were united in their belief that this research could change the way child abuse, neglect and trauma were dealt with in this country. They felt that arming parents, professionals and politicians with the latest scientific knowledge would have an impact on how our pēpi and tamariki were raised and lead to healthier whānau. 

“We decided we couldn’t let this knowledge and this research and science just sit in the corridors of scientists and academics. We thought, ‘Right, let’s get this out there.’ We felt that parents could be empowered by it and perhaps change the way they responded to their children, and that it would give the professionals a better understanding of what trauma does to the brain.” 

The impact of Brainwave Trust 

And so, Brainwave Trust Aotearoa was born and its team set to work, creating presentations, seminars and workshops for parents and professionals. Over the past 27 years, the science has evolved but Brainwave’s vision remains the same, that all tamariki in Aotearoa are valued and nurtured in order to reach their full potential.  

Today the trust, of which Judy is patron, provides targeted, culturally responsive programmes that make research-based knowledge available to all, and support people to improve their care of children based on this information. Brainwave has developed Māori and Pasifika-focused and responsive programmes and works with people from all walks of life – parents, caregivers, grandparents, teachers, social workers, police, corrections staff and more. Judy is emphatic that a greater understanding of the importance of the early years for human development would contribute to creating a healthier and happier society.  

“All our social policy should be underpinned by an understanding of neuroscience and how that affects the brain, how people are wired up,” she says. “It should underpin the work that Oranga Tamariki are doing. It should underpin the work of the health department. It should underpin the work of the courts.” 

Judy is continually moved by success stories reported from the Brainwave frontline and she is particularly proud of the work its educators carry out in prisons, helping people understand why their lives might have gone in certain directions and arming them with the tools and knowledge to break the cycle.  

“I have seen first-hand that when some of these people, many of whom have grown up in terrible environments, understand the impact of their own experiences on their developing brain, this kind of dawning comes over them and they begin to understand why they are so angry and disenfranchised. And this information empowers them to think, ‘I can make a difference in my child's life,’ and ‘I can break this cycle.’ It’s powerful stuff.” 

Again, it comes back to family. Judy believes every baby born should have the opportunity to grow up in a healthy, happy, nurturing environment. And as she bounces little Romy on her knee, she says she’ll always feel grateful she was fortunate enough to give her own kids a good start in life, and it’s nothing but a privilege now to have a hand in her grandchildren’s upbringing, too. She loves being Juju to her mokopuna, who bring her “sheer joy”. 

“Being a grandparent is wonderful because you’re so much more relaxed than when you were a parent. You have the time to simply enjoy them, you’re not stressed about work, cooking the dinner, doing all the other things. And I just love spending time with my grandchildren. I really believe they keep me young. They teach me about the latest music, what different words mean, and they make me laugh. They’re great human beings.” 

Doctors have their say on the early years

Dr Simon Rowley

If anyone in Aotearoa New Zealand is well placed to talk about the development of our littlest members of society, it’s Dr Simon Rowley, a specialist neonatal paediatrician for more than 40 years. His interest in neurobiology led him to become a trustee of Brainwave Trust Aotearoa 2 decades ago and since then he’s advocated tirelessly on the importance of the early years. Simon says that while science continues to evolve, the evidence is clear that the “wiring up” of a baby’s brain is dependent on positive experiences in the first 1 to 3 years of life. 

“The human brain starts to develop soon after conception, and throughout our foetal life all our neurons, or brain cells, grow and settle into place. But it’s not until birth that those neurons begin to make the vast majority of their connections that are vital to a person’s development. After these connections occur, a process called ‘pruning’ occurs, which is like a sculpting of the brain. And both of these things happen only when a baby is receiving the care, love and sensory input it needs. Without that, the development doesn’t occur and it can lead to some really poor outcomes.” 

By this, Simon means touch, smell, taste, hearing and vision. If a child is deprived of these, the brain simply can’t develop as it is supposed to. 

“Every time we cuddle a baby, handle a baby, talk to a baby, sing to a baby, all those things will light up in the brain, and if it happens frequently and with great intensity the pathways will become wired.” 

He points to a relatively new branch of scientific development called epigenetics, which shows genes can be turned on and off by environmental influences.  

“What this means is that, say there is a gene for nurturing, it can be switched on by good nurturing or switched off by bad nurturing. It means genes can be influenced by their environments. They’re not set in stone.” 

Simon believes governments should be supporting parents more to ensure they can spend as much time with their tamariki as possible, and that help should be directed to those who need it most. He thinks the early childcare industry needs to be improved based on the evidence around brain development in the early years, and that rehabilitation efforts for offenders should take into account their early experiences, too.  

“It shouldn’t be used as an excuse for what has been done, but I think if there was better understanding of why people do what they do it might result in therapy that helps them recover.” 

Simon says there are many things parents, grandparents and anyone who spends time with babies and children can do to ensure the best start in life. 

“If you’re a grandparent and that 2-year-old tugs at your trouser leg to tell you something, don’t ignore that child. Bend down, get to their level and listen and engage with what they’re telling you. Help support the parents around you. It’s such an important job raising babies and children, and people can’t do it on their own.” 

Caption: Dr Simon Rowley (left) and Dr Owen Sinclair (right)

Dr Owen Sinclair

Dr Owen Sinclair (Te Rarawa) is a paediatrician based at Waitākere Hospital in Auckland and is the current President of the Paediatric Society of New Zealand. He shares his insights on the early years, the biggest challenges for māmā and pēpē that he and his colleagues see on the frontlines, and his wisdom on what could make a difference.  

“Not only are the first 1,000 days of a child’s life critical, but the research shows that the 9 months prior to that are vital too. If mothers in that period feel cared for and loved – if they’re shown whanaungatanga and manaakitanga – and have all the necessities of life, then it’s really good for the baby.  

But sadly, the opposite is true too. There is now overwhelming evidence that if you get things wrong in that period, the child’s brain can be permanently altered with different neuro connections that are very difficult to get back.  

The truth is that in Aotearoa, where you’re born and how you’re born has a huge effect on your life course and your life expectancy. As paediatricians, we see the overwhelming effects that poverty and deprivation have on people. We see whānau who are struggling and it’s seldom their fault.  

A key change we have to make is to move away from the blaming culture we have and the stigmatisation of mothers and concentrate on the needs of the pēpē and the tamariki. That’s why we would thoroughly support policies that prioritise this period of life, from both a health and economic point of view.  

A little bit of money spent in the right place, in order to give people the best start in life, could make such a difference and it could save the government billions of dollars too. Policymakers will talk about the costs of things like maternity leave, but they never look at the economic benefits that come from that. Instead, we have a system that’s more focused on fixing problems once they exist. That’s very expensive and it can be futile.  

What worries me is that we see these inequities in our system, but as a society we just accept that as normal. It doesn’t have to be, and it doesn’t seem like there’s any fairness or kindness in that thinking. You don’t need to have policies that always promote winners and losers and other extremely successful societies don’t do it. It’s not a fait accompli to have a large number of people in your society struggling. 

When it comes to organisations like Brainwave Trust and other wraparound support services, there are very few interventions that are more important and more effective at solving some of the big issues in our society. The economic benefits of eliminating inequities and investing in hapū māmā and their babies are huge.” 

MAS Foundation’s early years mission

Over the past 5 years, MAS Foundation has provided valuable support to many organisations and initiatives dedicated to the early years, and they are committed to continuing that support into the future. 

“We have heard from our communities that the early years of a child's development, nurtured within a strong whānau, are crucial for long-term health and wellbeing. Over the next five years, we are focusing our efforts on Te Tikitiki a Taranga – the top knot of Taranga (Maui’s mother), which protected Maui as an infant. This name, gifted to us by kaumātua Mark Ormsby, symbolises the care, protection, and support we aim to provide for our mokopuna to thrive. By prioritising our collective efforts, we are building a future where our tamariki grow strong, safe, and with the aroha and guidance of their whānau/kāinga/aiga, hāpori, village/kolo/nu’u. This is our commitment to the health, wellbeing and success of our mokopuna, ensuring they stand firm and proud in the future.” 

Early years organisations supported by MAS Foundation 

Taku Mamia Trust

Taku Mamia Trust, based in Hastings, is dedicated to enhancing maternal and child health outcomes within Māori communities through culturally grounded initiatives. MAS Foundation provided funding to support the launch of the 'Ara' programme aimed at meeting the needs and aspirations of māmā across the perinatal and early years continuum.  

Pēpi Penapena Trust 

Pēpi Penapena’s mission aims to empower whānau with mātauranga to raise happy, loved and strong pēpi and tamariki across Aotearoa New Zealand. MAS Foundation funding will support the development of a groundbreaking digital storytelling and archive platform, including a new website and marketing strategy.  

Kakala Malie Incorporated Society 

This is a start-up programme inspired by previous positive learning experiences and research of Tongan and Pacific families in South Auckland. The Fatu Lālanga project comprises a combination of inter-generational workshops, fono and a 2-day retreat to help shift the inequities and disparities to a resilient and thriving fatu lālanga for Pacific peoples. 

Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Association (PADA) 

The mission of PADA is to eradicate perinatal mental health stigma in Aotearoa New Zealand by promoting awareness and best practices, ensuring equitable access to information and support for all families and whānau. 

Visible Difference Aotearoa 

Visible Difference Aotearoa is dedicated to supporting individuals with facial differences by providing community support, education, advocacy and positive exposure. The initiative aims to improve health and wellbeing equity by addressing the unique challenges faced by those with facial differences, particularly focusing on Māori and Pasifika communities. 

Ora Toa 

Ora Toa PHO is dedicated to enhancing community health and well-being by offering accessible, affordable, and coordinated services, ensuring continuous care for all. This funding was additional support to maintain the pilot Hapu Māmā looking to improve the dental health outcomes for expectant mothers and their children.