Building a Strong Foundation 

A child’s early experiences shape the brain’s architecture to either support a strong or fragile foundation for learning, health, and success in the workplace. Strong, positive relationships with parents and other caregivers are the building blocks for healthy development. All domains of child development – social emotional, physical, cognitive, communication, and adaptive – are intertwined during the early years.Although the “windows”, for example, for language learning and other skills remain open, these brain circuits become increasingly difficult to alter over time.

The 30 Million Word Gap: Early Years Make a Difference

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) reports that by 3 years of age, there is a 30 million word gap between children from the wealthiest and poorest families.Babies who are taught more words by 18 months of age tend to have faster brain processing speed compared to babies who are taught fewer words [1]By increasing access to high-quality early childhood education, we have the opportunity to ensure that children are ready to learn and succeed in school, compete in the global economy, and contribute to thriving communities.  
Watch a two-minute video of the study at https://youtu.be/I7HN5LJOc-w1. (Fernald, Marchman, & Weisleder, 2013)

We need to "connect" billions of neurons yearly in life.

When we're born, we have billions of neurons. But they're not, for the most part, connected. 
Connections between synapses—or signals sent through the brain—are strengthened through repeated positive experiences. 
These connections are vital in helping babies learn the essentials they need to survive and thrive within their family, community, and culture. 

The Economic Case for Investing in Our Future Workforce

Early childhood education is a proven long-term investment that stimulates economic growth and ensures future prosperity. Right now, every dollar put toward early childhood education is both an educational and economic stimulus for American families – creating jobs and enabling parents to earn while their children learn. 
Economists have found that high-quality early childhood education offers one of the highest returns of any public investment – more than $7 for every dollar spent.

The brain’s capacity for change decreases with age.

The brain is most flexible, or “plastic,” early in life to accommodate a wide range of environments and interactions, but as the maturing brain becomes more specialized to assume more complex functions, it is less capable of reorganizing and adapting to new or unexpected challenges.
Early plasticity means it’s easier and more effective to influence a baby’s developing brain architecture than to rewire parts of its circuitry in the adult years. 

The first 1000 Days (Microbiome) 

The first 1000 days of life represent a critical developmental window for the establishment of the microbiome1. The microbiome has long-term ramifications for growing children.2. The microbiome is established early in life and appears to be resilient to change.3. A critical window for development exists during the first one to three months of life in which the healthy microbiome is established and the risk for asthma and allergies is decreased.4. The healthy microbiome is shaped by vaginal delivery, breastfeeding, maternal health, and nutrition.5. Caesarian delivery, formula feeding, and antibiotic use perturb the microbiome and are associated with the development of type II diabetes, asthma, allergic diseases, and obesity later in life.