<p><strong>Thanks to scientists, we know how important the first five years are for your health, development, and brain.</strong></p><p><br></p><p>After the first year, the babies brain is almost double in volume. By age seven, it's nearly 90 percent the volume of an adult brain. <strong>Young brains can create practically one million neural connections every second</strong>. </p><p><br></p><p>Healthy development depends on these five things:</p><ol><li>Connection</li><li>Talking</li><li>Playing</li><li>A healthy home</li><li>Community</li></ol>

A child's most important needs 

<p><strong>Adults can make a huge difference by connecting, talking and playing with children early and often</strong>. Every time you talk to children, play with them, make them laugh, you teach and build their relationship skills and mental health.</p><p><br></p><ul><li>Copycat games build imagination and empathy.</li><li>Naming games build vocabulary and attention.</li><li>Games like peekaboo build memory and trust.</li></ul>

Make a difference with serve-and-return

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"What if I was to tell you that a game of peek-a-boo could change the world?" asks seven-year-old Molly Wright, one of the youngest-ever TED speakers. Breaking down the research-backed ways parents and caregivers can support children's healthy brain development, Wright highlights the benefits of play on lifelong learning, behavior and well-being, sharing effective strategies to help all kids thrive by the age of five. She's joined onstage by one-year-old Ari and his dad, Amarjot, who help illustrate her big ideas about brain science. (This TED Talk was produced in collaboration with Minderoo Foundation as an educational tool for parents and caregivers around the world and is supported by UNICEF.)

How every child can thrive by five

A child's most important needs

Make a difference with serve-and-return

Evan Y.'s ideas are part of this journey:

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