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Fostering Early Learning: Nurturing Growth and Education

The foundation for lifelong learning is built during the
critical early years.

Babies exhibit a natural curiosity that fuels their exploration of the world from the moment they are born. This curiosity is the cornerstone of early learning, driving remarkable brain development during the critical first three years of life.

During this period, they rapidly acquire essential language, motor skills and early literacy, which form the foundation for life-long learning.

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Between birth and age 3, a child's brain forms over a million neural connections every second.

Current trends and challenges

During the first three years, babies create over a million neural connections per second, so they need nurturing and support in loving, consistent environments.

However, many families need help accessing quality services and tools for successful early learning. Here’s what we’ve discovered:

Developmental screenings help parents and professionals identify needs and guide families in accessing appropriate support. However, only 34% of infants receive developmental screenings.
Most states (45) do not require minimum training standards for early childhood educators.
Early language and literacy development starts in the first three years and is closely connected to experiences with stories and books. However, only 37% of parents report reading to their babies daily.

By advocating for improved resources and support, we can ensure that every child has the successful early learning foundation they need to thrive.

Benefits of early childhood education

Just a few ways early learning education can benefit babies and toddlers include:

Social-emotional skills: Early learning education helps babies and infants learn to manage emotions, build relationships and form strong bonds with caregivers.
Language skills: These years are critical for picking up language and communication through everyday interactions.
Math and science skills: Research shows toddlers benefit from early exposure to math and science concepts and language.
Early intervention: Early childhood education allows parents and professionals to catch developmental concerns early so young children can get the help they need early on.

32%

Only 32 percent of babies receive developmental screenings to identify delays or areas of concern.

Forty-five states do not require minimum levels of training, like a child development associate credential, for early childhood educators of infants and toddlers. In fact, many states require nothing beyond a high school diploma.

37%

Only 37 percent of parents read to their babies every day.

Source: ZERO TO THREE. State of Babies Yearbook: 2022.

I think I was probably wise enough to know that what kind of childhood you had made a difference in who you were. If you made a difference early on, you probably could help someone have a different life than they otherwise would.

Jeree Pawl, ZERO TO THREE Founding Member

ZERO TO THREE's Contributions

Here are some of the ways we support early childhood learning development:

Early learning resources: We offer parents and professionals a comprehensive library that fosters literacy, communication and early math and science skills. Our experts equip educators, parents and caregivers with practical, research-backed tools, like our free early STEM curriculum, to promote early learning programs for three-year-olds and younger.
Development screenings: We offer child care consultants information about screening and assessing infants and toddlers. We educate parents about development screenings through pediatric care and early intervention programs.
Policies that support early childhood education: We advocate for policymakers to provide continuous support to parents, integrate child development specialists in pediatric care, raise education standards for early childhood educators, and expand access to screenings and early interventions.
Professional training: We enable continuous early learning training and professional development through our early childhood professional learning programs. Training opportunities include our ZERO TO THREE conference, DC:0—5 clinical training and Growing the Brain professional development curriculum.

Educational resources

Our resources provide evidence-based strategies to enhance social-emotional growth, language and literacy skills and cognitive development, ensuring children have the best possible start.

By staying informed, you can confidently nurture early learning, address developmental concerns and create enriching environments that help every child reach their full potential.

Related Resources

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Problem Solvers: A Free Early STEM Curriculum

Children can learn about math, science and engineering through everyday play. Download our complete preschool and early STEM curriculum, activity guide and songs.

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Early childhood educator, Leslie Rubino, reflects on finding their gender identity and why they created a program for young queer children, like they once were.

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Multilingualism: Multiple Benefits

Multilanguage learners (MLLs) are children learning two (or more) languages at the same time. Multilingualism has multiple benefits.

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Support early learning

Our resources help professionals promote early childhood education and empower children to reach their full potential. Support early childhood education by contributing to our programs or advocating for better early learning opportunities in your community to ensure all children have access to the resources they need.