The earliest years of a child’s life are critical for building the foundation for success in school and beyond. During these years, children’s brains develop rapidly, influenced heavily by their experiences.
Children who live in poverty face an array of environmental factors that can harm their development and life outcomes. With gaps between children from lower and higher income families beginning early in life, efforts to narrow disparities and facilitate economic mobility must start before birth and focus on the individuals who are most influential in children’s lives: parents, caregivers and teachers.