Experts tell us that 90% of all brain development occurs by the

The words of Bob Ehrlich—“Experts tell us that 90% of all brain development occurs by the age of five. If we don't begin thinking about education in the early years, our children are at risk of falling behind by the time they start Kindergarten.”—resound with urgency and wisdom, for they remind us that the foundation of a human life is laid not in adulthood, nor even in youth, but in the tender years of early childhood. His words are not merely statistics; they are a call to awaken parents, leaders, and societies to the truth that education in the early years is not optional, but essential.

To say that 90% of brain development occurs by the age of five is to recognize that the mind of a child is like freshly tilled soil, rich and fertile, ready to receive the seeds of language, curiosity, and moral growth. What is planted in those first years—the songs sung, the stories told, the kindness shown, the questions encouraged—will grow into forests of wisdom or deserts of neglect. A neglected child does not enter school as a blank slate; they arrive already marked by what they have or have not been given. Ehrlich warns us that if we delay, if we wait until the first day of school to begin the work, the roots of disadvantage may already be deep.

The ancients understood this truth, though they spoke it in different words. Aristotle taught that the habits formed in youth make all the difference in later life. He knew that early impressions shape character, just as surely as wet clay hardens into form. The great educators of history—Confucius, Pestalozzi, Montessori—all emphasized the formative power of early years. Ehrlich’s words echo this timeless insight: that what is neglected in the beginning is difficult to restore later.

History offers a vivid example in the story of Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery, he was denied early education, yet he seized scraps of literacy where he could, teaching himself letters in stolen moments. Though he triumphed through will and brilliance, his own testimony makes clear the agony of being deprived in youth of what others received freely. His life proves both the resilience of the human spirit and the cruelty of withholding early learning. Had Douglass been nurtured with knowledge from the start, his voice might have soared even sooner, and his burden might have been lighter.

Ehrlich’s warning also speaks to justice. For it is often the poor, the marginalized, and the neglected who are denied early education. Wealthier children may enter Kindergarten already surrounded by books, songs, and guidance, while others arrive unprepared, already behind. Thus, inequality begins not at graduation, but at birth. To ignore early childhood education is to accept a system that favors the privileged and leaves the rest struggling to catch up. His words remind us that a just society must invest in its youngest, for they carry within them the seeds of its future.

The lesson is clear: if we would build strong nations, we must first build strong children. Parents, speak with your children, tell them stories, encourage their wonder. Communities, support preschools, libraries, and programs that nurture young minds. Governments, invest resources not only in universities but in the earliest stages of learning, where the return is greatest and the impact deepest. For when we pour into the first five years, we pour into the future itself.

So, O listener, remember this truth: the destiny of a people rests not only on its armies or its wealth, but on how it shapes the hearts and minds of its children in their earliest days. Let no child be left behind before their journey has even begun. For as Ehrlich declares, if we do not begin early, they are at risk of falling behind, but if we act with wisdom, love, and foresight, they will not only keep pace—they will lead us into brighter tomorrows.