Are We Crazy About Our Kids? (32 minutes) is one of the supporting episodes to the forthcoming documentary series, The Raising of America: Early Childhood and the Future of Our Nation, now in production (more at www.RaisingofAmerica.org)

Science has demonstrated that a child's experiences during the earliest years are vital to building the foundation for life-long individual success -- in school and in life.

Now economists are studying the costs and benefits of high quality early care and preschool. And they're worried. Not because we're spending too much but because we're spending too little where it matters most.

Studies by Federal Reserve economist Arthur Rolnick, Nobel laureate James Heckman and others conclude that high quality early care and pre-school yield huge individual - and public -- benefits. Participants in Perry Pre-School, Abcederian and the Chicago Child-Parent Centers were more likely to graduate high school and college, get better jobs and contribute more in taxes; less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol, be unemployed, go to jail or incur other social costs. The return on investment? Six dollars to one, or more.

Are We Crazy About Our Kids? also travels to Quebec which rolled out a novel jobs and anti-poverty program: they introduced universal early care and preschool (from birth to age five) available to all parents at a cost of $7 a day, along with paid parental leave and other family supports.

Back here in the U.S., child care remains largely haphazard, unregulated, and unaffordable for most. Many states have even cut back funding. But pilot programs continue. A pre-school initiative in Salt Lake City has closed the achievement gap between rich and poor, reversing a 30 year national trend.

High quality child-care and preschool is just one piece of the solution. But economists are clear about the equation: Our system is paying for failure, rather than investing in success.

The question is -- what will we do about it? How crazy are we about our kids?