Much of what gets in the way of learning in elementary, middle, and high schools has to do with lessons missed, skills undeveloped, and experiences in the world that have shaped the early development of the brain. Neuroscience tells people that early experience, even experience in the womb, is the soil in which the young brain grows and that early experience influences the way the brain is physically constructed. Lessons recently learned from genomics, molecular biology, and neuroscience show that, based on early experiences, the brain grows bigger and more capable as it wires itself for expected future experiences. If strong structures are built in the earliest stages of development, the baby's brain adequately prepares itself for future functioning and the building of additional structures. Conversely, if strong structures are not built in infancy, the odds are that later in life, future development will take place on shaky ground. Research has shown that the foundations of competence in numeracy, literacy, communication, critical thinking, social interaction, and emotional regulation are built through the experiences infants have with those who care for them in the early years. In this article, the author argues that building the right foundations during critical developmental periods early in life optimizes the probability of successful functioning later in life. People must pay far greater attention than they have, traditionally, to the care of children under two. (Contains 1 figure.)