The prodigious Nene Royal, at just 16 years of age, has achieved success people can only dream of. She stunned the world by winning the latest season of America’s Got Talent in September. Even global rock music stars acknowledge that she is a special talent.
“She is a prodigy,” says Somchai Jitsuchon, research director at the Thailand Development Research Institute, referring to the Nene phenomenon.
Nene developed her guitar skills by playing rock music. She picked up the instrument when she was seven and has not looked back since.
Growing up in a middle-class family, Nene Royal was lucky to enjoy the full backing of her parents in her musical pursuits. Her father sacrificed his love for sports, mobilizing all his efforts to help his child pursue her dream.
Fans on social media, while crediting Nene’s own efforts, also acknowledge the roles of her parents, rather than government support schemes.
This inevitably leads us to the question: does investment in children at a very young age yield high returns?
Somchai believes early investment in children certainly brings wonderful outcomes. “Have you read the book Kindergarten is Too Late?” he asks, referring to Masaru Ibuka’s famous 1971 work titled “Yochien de wa Ososugi” in Japanese. Ibuka, the co-founder of Sony, is also founder of the Sony Foundation for Education.
The core argument
Ibuka argues that traditional schooling that starts at age 5 or 6 misses the most crucial window of human brain development. In his book, he states that the basic structure of the brain’s neural networks forms primarily between birth and age three.
This relates to neuroplasticity and critical periods. Ibuka observed that an infant’s brain is uniquely receptive to effortlessly absorbing patterns, languages, and environmental stimuli.
The observation is not about pushing toddlers into hard academics like maths or reading. Rather, it emphasizes that if you wait until age five to begin nurturing a child’s emotional resilience, sensory curiosity, musical ear, or social confidence, you are working against a brain that has already begun “pruning” unused neural pathways.
Certainly, we need adequate resources to build children’s mental and physical strength. Somchai, alongside other academics and civil groups, has long called for a universal Child Support Grant (CSG), under which currently eligible children receive a free cash allowance of 600 baht per month.
Giving all children a chance
Nitirat Sapsomboon, a prominent Thai social activist and founder/coordinator of the “We Fair” network, shares the same view. He believes investing in children at a very young age brings multiplier yields much higher than from investing in them later.
“Nene’s success story may be one in a million, but what we want is for all children to have a chance to develop their full potential,” says Nitirat.
He says that civil society groups are pushing for community childcare centers to look after children as young as six months old, instead of the current threshold of two years. These care centers should also open and close daily in line with parents’ working hours, so parents can pick up their children after their shifts end.
In response to the campaign for starting a universal child grant, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security is expected to propose it to the Cabinet for approval this month. The board of the National Commission on the Promotion of Child and Youth Development has already approved making the CSG universal starting from fiscal year 2027.
It will require an additional budget of around 5 billion baht on top of the current 17 billion baht, though it could be lower due to declining birth rates. The budget is expected to cover around 3 million children, an additional 400,000 to 500,000, says Nitirat.
“Pregnant women between 5-9 months should be supported,” Nitirat argues.
Poor families not benefiting
A study by UNICEF Thailand and the Thailand Development Research Institute found that a large number of children from poor families are excluded from the CSG.
Initiated in 2015, the CSG aimed to provide income support to children of poor households to ensure they receive quality care and are nurtured to develop and realize their potential. In its first year, the program provided financial support to children in households with an average income of not more than 36,000 baht per person per year for one year, later extending it to three years.
However, a 2019 study found that approximately 30 per cent of children from poor families did not receive the CSG. This means that for every 100 children eligible under the program’s objectives, only 70 received the financial support to which they were entitled. This issue raised concerns among academics and civil society, leading to calls for the program to be made universal.
In response, the government adjusted the eligibility criteria and conditions for determining the CSG’s target groups. In 2019, the criteria were revised to provide support for children from birth until the age of six years, and the average household income threshold was raised to 100,000 baht per person per year. This income threshold expansion was expected to reduce the exclusion of poor children caused by uncertainties in income verification.
One analysis reveals that the exclusion error is estimated at 34.4 per cent of children from families with annual income not exceeding 100,000 baht. The number of children was around 1.9 million, and those who received the CSG totaled 1.9 million in 2021, according to the study published in 2024.
By Thai PBS World’s Business Desk
