Leave Behind for Elected Officials

It’s Time to Think Babies

The first three years shape all the rest.

The science is clear that our brains grow faster between the ages of 0 and 3 than at any later point in our lives, forming more than one million new neural connections every second. And these early connections have a lifelong impact on how babies learn and grow. Providing families with the social and economic resources to give their babies the nurturing experiences they need benefits all of us. Building this early support for all families can lead to higher graduation rates, more employment, and healthier lives.

It’s time to invest in the future.

We need to invest in the first three years of life to give all our babies the best chance to succeed in life. Key areas of investment include:

• Quality, Affordable Child Care. We need to make sure every family who needs it has access to quality, affordable child care for their infants and toddlers that offer one-on-one relationships with caring adults and strong early learning experiences.
• Time for Parents to Bond with Their Babies. We need to give parents dedicated time to bond with their babies in the earliest months, when so much of their development is at stake.
• Healthy Emotional Development. We need to reach parents with resources and services they want and need to nurture their baby’s healthy development and set them up for a healthy life.
• Strong Physical Health and Nutrition. We need to ensure families have access to nutrition and other health services that can give them a healthy start in life.

It’s time to bring national attention to what babies—and families—need to thrive. Be part of the team that’s fighting for our future. Learn more about our campaign and sign up for updates at thinkbabies.org.