Health Policy Brief: The importance of early learning

The first five years of a child’s life are a time of both great opportunity and vulnerability. Early
childhood lays the groundwork for physical, emotional, social and intellectual development later in life. The human brain grows more quickly during infancy and early childhood than at any other time. However, adverse environments and experiences during these early years can have a critical impact on development and subsequent functioning of the brain and biological systems, leading to lifelong threats to educational attainment and health.