Editor’s Note: The American Academy of Pediatrics launched Healthy Child Care America in 1995, a project to promote quality early education and child care experiences for families and communities. Chapters across the country are launching early brain and child development programs. We invited Dr. Lee Beers from Children’s National Medical Center and a member of our D.C. KIDS COUNT advisory board to write about what the D.C. chapter is doing.

Between the ages of 0 to 3, children's brains develop most rapidly, creating the vital brain connections or wiring that is critical to later learning, social skills and impulse control. That's one of the main reasons why it's important to invest early in a child's healthy development. If we miss this opportunity to properly "wire the brain," we may never get another chance in a child's lifetime. 

We wrote this blog at the request of our partners at the Defeat Poverty DC coalition. Sign up to join the campaign here. 

As a mother of a one-year-old daughter, I don’t know how many times I’ve asked myself that question.