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The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a baby's development. A newborn's brain is about 25 percent of its approximate adult weight. But by age 3, it has grown dramatically by producing billions of cells and hundreds of trillions of connections, or synapses, between these cells. While we know that the development of a young child's brain takes years to complete, we also know there are many things parents and caregivers can do to help children get off to a good start and establish healthy patterns for life-long learning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Offers answers to common questions about brain development in the early years.
Brain Quiz
Interactive quiz on early brain development.
Healthy Minds: Nurturing Your Child’s Healthy Development
Provides age-based information to parents that links research on child and brain development to the important ways which babies and toddlers grow and learn in the first three years.
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Getting Ready for School Begins at Birth
Discusses how parents can foster the skills necessary for school success—including self-confidence and self-control—in their babies and toddlers.
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Starting Smart: How Early Experiences Influence Brain Development
Examines how a child’s early experiences from birth to 3 can influence and shape brain development.
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From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development
Slideshow highlighting the key messages of large-scale study of how very young children develop, learn and grow.
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Learning & Growing Together: Understanding and Supporting Your Child's Development
Claire Lerner and Amy Laura Dombro (2000)
Uses personal vignettes, reflective questions and discussion points to engage and empower parents and caregivers to think in new ways. Explores the most challenging issues facing parents—sleep, discipline, and feeding, among others—and explains important early child development milestones in simple language. Other topics: temperament, brain basics and how parents’ own life experiences affect their parenting style and skills. | 
