If you could do one thing – the most important thing – to impact the life of a young child, what would it be (it's probably not what you think of first)? We want to improve the well-being of children – ours, that of our community and that of the world. It is therefore vital to think holistically about this issue.

Tom Weisner is professor emeritus of anthropology and psychiatry at UCLA. He studies and teaches on culture and human development; families and children at risk; and evidence-based policies to improve the lives of children and families. He has carried out research in Kenya on the effects of rural-urban migration on children and parents; in Delhi, India, on autistic families and children; supports for poor working families in Wisconsin; families with disabled children in Los Angeles; hippie and countercultural families and children in California; care and education of siblings in Hawaii; non-parental and sibling care worldwide; and gratitude and academic achievement among Latino adolescents and families in Los Angeles. He served on the board of directors of the NGO ChildFund International. He went to Reed College (BA) and Harvard (PhD). He is married to Susan Meade Weisner and has two sons and four beautiful grandchildren.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

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