
Even before birth, brain development speeds along at a breakneck pace, millions of neural connections happening by the minute. Bones grow, muscles strengthen, motor control increases, language blossoms, and a child’s first relationships form.
All of this groundwork for everything that follows — starting and staying in school, growing into young adulthood and entering the workforce, becoming parents, making a positive mark on the world.
That is, if.
Only if that life has begun with certain conditions present.
Safety. A loving, responsive caregiver. Learning opportunities and stimulation. Access to nutrition and health care.