This guide for infant day care providers examines the importance of early experience for brain development and strategies for providing optimal infant care. The introduction discusses the current devaluation of day care and idealization of maternal care and identifies benefits of quality day care experience for intellectual development, sleep routines, learning opportunities, the development of empathy, and dealing with frustration. Part 1, "Why Having a Good Start Matters!," examines recent evidence regarding brain development during infancy, the importance of early experience, and the impact of enriched environments. Part 2, "Good Experiences Shape the Brain," presents information on the relationship between verbal stimulation and language development, nurturance and emotional development, enriched environments and intellectual development, and how good day care may enhance development. Part 3, "How Things Can Go Wrong!," discusses damaging experiences, the role of stress hormones in brain growth, research on children with chemical markers for various disorders, and how quality care can prevent later problems by building resilience. Part 4, "Strategies for Enhancing Day Care," delineates direct and indirect strategies for enhancing sensorimotor, social, language, intellectual, and emotional growth. (Contains 14 references.) (KDFB)