New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has a global reputation for compassion. That compassion is evident in his piece, Cuddle Your Kid, which draws on the work of Paul Tough.

Examining the remarkable protective influence of loving parents, Kristof observes the cycles of generational poverty that are transmitted from parent to child. “Yet,” he writes, “the cycle can be broken, and the implication is that the most cost-effective way to address poverty isn’t necessarily housing vouchers or welfare initiatives or prison-building. Rather, it may be early childhood education and parenting programs.”