increase family incomes and state revenues, and improve the quality of life in communities throughout your state?

Where would you begin?

Science tells us that we may find the solutions to these complex social problems in early childhood

when the architecture of the brain begins to form.

Brain architecture is built over time and shaped by experiences starting in the earliest years of life.

The most important experiences come from the environment of relationships that interacts with each child:

parents, extended family, and caregivers of all kinds.

But serious adversity early in life can disrupt healthy brain development.

Both brain architecture and behavior are increasingly difficult to change as individuals get older

so what happens early matters for a lifetime.

Now, imagine you can take action to improve the lives of children and the quality of life in this community.

Where and when would that action be most effective?

The links between policy, parenting, and brain architecture become much more clear when we can see how formative events

and family and community environments affect child development.

For example, policymakers want to make their communities safer, or improve children's learning, or reduce the cost of chronic health problems.

A child raised in this environment may experience lower levels of stress and more opportunities for learning.

That leads to sturdy brain architecture and a healthy stress response system

which prepare the child to achieve higher levels of literacy and other skills early in life

and later leads to improved school achievement and decreased dropout rates.

Positive early experiences can also reduce levels of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Increased health and education levels can have positive effects across society, like reduced crime and increased income and tax revenues.

Policies affect both individuals and communities, so making wise choices that support early brain development can improve health, behavior, and learning throughout life.