Most of us understand that a baby’s earliest months and years are the most critical for brain development. But did you know that a baby’s relationships with parents and caregivers actually stimulate that process?

That’s right: An infant’s connections to nurturing, trusted adults help build the foundation for emotions, language, behavior, memory, physical movement – you name it. Right from the start, as parents, we need to bond with these brand-new little people, teach them how the world works, and give them the confidence to explore it. But those earliest years are the most important. Sadly, those years are also a time when Americans find the parental juggling act most challenging.

That’s why RWJF has joined with ZERO-TO-THREE to launch a new campaign called Think Babies, dedicated to promoting policies that give our children the best chance to grow up healthy and happy. Like that network of neurons – adding ever more connections as a baby grows – family circumstances are complicated. And parents’ ability to care for a child depends on a web of interconnected obligations, opportunities, and yes, policies.

[For more of this story, written by Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, go to https://www.linkedin.com/pulse...-risa-lavizzo-mourey]