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I want to start with a number 1 million.

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That's how many new neural connections
form in a child's brain.

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Every single second
during the first three years of life.

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1 million every second.

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By the time a child turns to more than 80%
of their brain

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architecture is already in place.

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The connections that shape how they learn,
how they regulate their emotions,

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how they form relationships.

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Most of that is built
before a child can speak in sentences.

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And then something called pruning begins.

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The brain starts to refine itself,
strengthening

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the connections that are being used
and letting go of the ones that aren't

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what is nurtured in these first days.

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What is neglected fades.

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That's not a metaphor.

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That's neuroscience.

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So here's the question.

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If the first years of life
are the most formative period

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in all of human development,
if they shape a child's health,

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their learning, their relationships,
their resilience, and their life chances.

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Why, as a society, do we invest the least
in the years that matter most?

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And think about what that means
in practice.

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A new parent comes home from hospital
with a baby.

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They're exhausted. They're overwhelmed.

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They have questions.

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They don't know how to ask, about feeding,
about sleep,

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about whether their baby is developing
the way they should.

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They want to do the right thing, but
they're not sure what the right thing is.

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And the support that used to exist
in that community,

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the healthcare visitor
that came to the house, the local group

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where they could meet other parents,
a children's center down the road.

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For too many families,
that support has quietly disappeared.

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So they're left to figure it out
on their own.

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And that uncertainty is my child
hitting their milestones.

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Should they be talking by now?

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Am I doing enough?

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Doesn't just feel stressful.

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It has real consequences.

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Because when a parent's confidence drops,

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so does the quality
of those early interactions.

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The play becomes less playful.

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The reading stops,
the singing feels silly,

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and the child's brain, the brain
is forming a million connections.

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A second gets fewer of the experiences
it needs to thrive.

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And then by the time those children arrive
at school, that gap is already visible.

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In 2024, just 59% of children
in the most deprived areas

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reached a good level of development
compared to 79% in the least deprived.

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That's a 20 point gap
on the first day of reception.

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And then it compounds by the time
those children sit their GCSEs.

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40% of all pupils
don't pass English or maths.

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The infrastructure that once

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supported families in those earliest years
has largely disappeared.

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More than a thousand children centers
have closed across England in 2021.

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The Royal Foundation partnered
with the London School

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of Economics to calculate
what that failure actually costs.

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Their answer
at least 16 billion pounds a year.

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That's the cost to society
of the remedial steps we take to address

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problems from children in care to long
term mental and physical health issues

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that might have been avoided
through action early in childhood.

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And the researchers have said that
that figure is an underestimate.

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16 billion every year
not to solve a problem.

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That's what it costs us.

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But here's the thing
the research keeps telling us

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over and over again, the single most

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powerful influence in a child's
development isn't a government program.

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It isn't a curriculum.

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It isn't a piece of equipment
that you need to buy.

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It's what happens at home.

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The talk, the play, the reading,
the singing, the bath time routine.

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The moment you get down on the floor
and say, let's see what happens.

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Scientists
call it the serve and return that back

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and forth
between a parent, carer or a child.

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When the child reaches out with a sound
or gesture, the adult responds.

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And then that child reaches out again.

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That interaction,

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which looks like nothing from

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the outside, is literally building
brain architecture.

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Every exchange lays another connection.

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Nobel laureate James Heckman

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spent decades studying
the economics of early intervention.

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His conclusion was simple.

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The highest rate of return of investment
in human development comes from investing

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as early as possible, from birth through
to age five, in disadvantaged families.

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He found a 13% annual rate of return
on comprehensive early years programs.

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So it's not just a social argument,
it's an economic one.

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And in 2025,
the Institute for Fiscal Studies published

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what might be the most important piece
of evidence we've seen in a generation.

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They tracked children
from the 1990s, children who grew up

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near Shore Start centers
all the way through to their GCSEs.

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Those children
performed nearly a full grade higher.

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The children from the poorest backgrounds
benefited most,

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and every pound spent
generated 2.05 pounds in the long term.

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So the science
is settled and the economics are clear.

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What we do in the earliest years is the
single best investment a society can make.

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And yet,
most parents don't know any of this.

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Not because they don't care,
but because nobody has told them.

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Nobody has set them down

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and said what you're doing right now
at that kitchen table with your child.

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That matters more than anything.

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So that's where babies home comes in,
and that's

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where this podcast comes from.

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Baby zone is a registered charity.

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We operate free, evidence
based family hubs

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across the UK for families
with children aged 0 to 5.

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There are no barriers to entry.

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You don't need to book.

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You don't need to fill in a form.
You don't need to qualify.

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You just walk through the door
and you're welcome.

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That's a deliberate choice
because the families who need us

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the most are often the ones least likely
to navigate a referral pathway

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or sign up online.

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We meet families where they are
and we build trust from the first visit.

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Inside Every Baby's

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Own how parents and children
accessed evidence based classes.

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Baby sensory.

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Many professors
think medics reading fairy toddler sense

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alongside health visitors, mental health
services, infant feeding

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teams, speech and language
therapy and specialist support.

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We work with partners like Dad Matters
to help fathers build confidence

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and bond with their babies.

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We work with the Department
for Work and Pension

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who comes into some of our hubs
so families can access

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benefits advice in a space
that doesn't feel like a job center.

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The NHS runs out of hospital early, help
clinics inside our hubs so parents

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can get developmental checks and referrals
without ever

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needing an appointment.

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When a parent can attend an early learning
class,

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speak to a health visitor and access
housing advice on the same visit.

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Problems?

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Get identified earlier
and the support is more effective.

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So it's not a theory, it's
what more than 260 partner

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organizations are doing with us
right now, or under one roof.

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So how big is Baby sign?

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Let me give you an idea.

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We have eight hubs in the UK, with hubs

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opening in Swansea and Glasgow
in the next two months.

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And on any given day,
each hub sees about 200 families.

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Since we've launched,
we've welcomed over 100,000 visits.

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And we serve thousands of families
up and down the country.

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And we have thousands

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more in WhatsApp communities
that we engage with every single week.

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Sharing tips, play ideas and support
between visits.

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74% of the families that come through
our doors are from the most disadvantaged

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communities, and we work with over
260 partner organizations

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so that each hub can support
those families.

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They cost about 130,000
pounds a year to run.

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That's 8 pounds per visit.

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And we use existing community venues
rather than building from scratch.

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So funding flows
directly to families, not to overheads.

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And by 2028,

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we aim to have 20 hubs in the communities
that need them most.

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But what I really want you to understand
is what's happening inside those visits.

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Because Baby Zone isn't just a place
to play.

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It's a place where we develop, test
and refine what works for families

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and then share it.

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We've developed our own flagship
programs, Baby Zones.

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Everyday maths is a 20 week pathway
that makes maths more visible in everyday

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routines, so that counting stairs
on the way to bed or sorting socks

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by color or spotting patterns
on the pavement makes more sense.

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That matters because the research shows
that early math skills at age five

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are the single strongest
predictor of later academic success.

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Yet maths anxiety is one of the most
common feelings parents describe to us.

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So we're helping families
find that numeracy and maths

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is already in their lives, and
showing it to them that it can be joyful.

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We've also developed a baby's own nest,

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which stands for Name,
empathize, self-regulate and Team Up.

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It's our program for building social
and emotional skills

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in the very youngest children
and in the adults that care for them.

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These are simple, repeatable tools

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that travel home with families
and become part of their daily life.

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And these programs don't stay in the hub.

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84% of parents tell us they use baby
zone ideas at home regularly,

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and we reinforce that through our WhatsApp
communities, through the Baby Buddy app,

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which families can access at three in
the morning when the questions won't stop.

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And also through The Baby's Own Academy,
a digital training platform

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that will equip thousands of early years
practitioners with our programs.

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So what works in our hubs

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can spread to nurseries, family centers,
and settings across the country.

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I want

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to explain something that I think
the most important thing

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Baby Zone is doing,
and it's not a program or a hub.

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It's a question.

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Do you believe you can do this
with your child?

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That's the question at the center of what
we call the parent confidence Index.

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The PCI,
we're developing it with academics

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from the University of Oxford Department
for Experimental Psychology.

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And it measures
something deceptively simple.

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A parent's day to day
competence across four areas.

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Understanding your child's
cues and development.

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Health and everyday learning.

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Routines and emotions.

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And the confidence to seek help
when you need it.

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It's not an audit of parents have
or haven't done.

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It's not a test.

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It captures the belief I can do this.

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And here's why that matters so much.

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The research shows
that parental confidence is closely

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linked to positive child outcomes,
including self-regulation, early language,

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early maths, and social
and emotional well-being.

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When a parent feels confident,
they talk more, they play more,

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they read more and they persist more,
and their child's brain benefits directly.

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But here's the part that gives me
the most hope.

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Confidence is malleable.

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It can grow within weeks when parents
are supported in the right ways.

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The PCI is designed to test
a clear hypothesis

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if confidence is the catalyst,
then changes should be visible

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long before traditional child
outcome measures shift.

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In other words, if we can move confidence,

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then everything else follows.

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And we see this every week in our hubs.

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We see it with a parent struggling

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with severe anxiety
and postnatal depression,

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who now says that baby zone
has given them the confidence

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to seek support
that they would never have had before.

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We see it in dads who feel invisible
in every other parent group

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until babies are born, made it clear
that fathers belong in earlier spaces to

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and we
see it in the parent that comes to it.

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Babies are looking
for a play space with her toddler.

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Ended up joining our team.

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Going from participant to operations
officer, helping other families.

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The way that she was helped.

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Those aren't just outputs.

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They're transformations
and they start at the same way.

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Someone walked through the door
and was made to feel welcome and began

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to believe they could do it, too.

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Our strategy is built around one idea.

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Practice creates knowledge,
and then knowledge creates confidence

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that confidence creates change.

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That's the baby's own flywheel.

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And once it starts turning,
it doesn't stop.

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This work is more timely than it has ever
been.

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The current government
has made the early years a stated priority

00;12;45;26 - 00;12;49;13
and the best start in life program
in the family helps roll out a design

00;12;49;13 - 00;12;51;15
to bring services together in one place.

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Exactly what babies are
and has been building for years.

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For the first time in a long time.

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There's genuine political momentum
behind the idea that the earliest years

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deserve serious investment
and serious infrastructure.

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In fact, Olivia Bailey,
the current minister for Early years

00;13;08;10 - 00;13;12;17
Education, visited Babies Zone recently
alongside the children's commissioner.

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She spent time with families
and spoke to our partners and afterwards

00;13;16;18 - 00;13;19;18
said something that I think captures
what we're trying to do.

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Parents told us they don't want judgment.

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They want practical support
that works in real life.

00;13;25;23 - 00;13;29;21
Baby zone is a great example of how warm,
welcoming community

00;13;29;21 - 00;13;34;13
spaces help families connect,
access services and feel supported.

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It reflects the ambition behind the Family
Hubs program, bringing help together

00;13;39;28 - 00;13;43;22
in one place so families
get what they need when they need it.

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So it's not just validation,
it's alignment.

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What we're seeing in our hubs, in our
data, the stories that families tell us

00;13;51;09 - 00;13;52;03
is the same thing.

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The government is trying to build
nationally.

00;13;54;09 - 00;13;58;02
So this podcast exists
to be part of that conversation,

00;13;58;09 - 00;14;01;08
to connect
what the evidence says to families,

00;14;01;08 - 00;14;04;09
experiences and what policymakers
are trying to deliver.

00;14;06;04 - 00;14;07;09
This podcast

00;14;07;09 - 00;14;10;09
is a new beginning for best beginnings.

00;14;10;10 - 00;14;14;11
Best Beginnings, the charity that spent
nearly 20 years creating practical,

00;14;14;16 - 00;14;17;25
evidence based resources for parents
and professionals that support them.

00;14;18;13 - 00;14;22;10
Their flagship product is Baby Body,
an NHS endorsed app

00;14;22;10 - 00;14;26;08
that has already supported
more than 170,000 parents with expert

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guidance on pregnancy, birth
and the first years of a child's life.

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Free to download.

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Free from ads accredited
from the Royal Colleges and leading health

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organizations trusted by midwives, health

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visitors and families across the country.

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In March 2025, Baby
Body found a new home within Baby Zone

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and it became part of what we're building
a seamless ecosystem of support

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that connects our physical hubs,

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where families come to learn and connect
face to face with a digital platform

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that's there for parents
at three in the morning

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when the baby won't sleep
and the questions won't stop.

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And it reflects what this podcast
is trying to do.

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Bring together the learning from our hubs,
the research, the digital tools

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and the voices of people that understand
this area best all into one place.

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A place where you can find out
what the science actually

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says,
what real families actually experience,

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and what you can do right now today
to give your child the best possible start

00;15;26;09 - 00;15;28;09
each week on best Beginnings.

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I'll be speaking to the people
who are thinking most deeply

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about how to give every child
the best possible start.

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Researchers, practitioners, parents
and policymakers.

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Creators. Business leaders.

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People who are changing how we understand
the early years

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and the people who are changing
what we actually do about them.

00;15;48;17 - 00;15;52;11
You'll hear from the dad, who built
one of the world's biggest play based

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learning platforms from a kitchen cupboard
in London without a science degree,

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from the professor
whose neuroscience research is reshaping

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how we understand infant development,
from the man who has spent decades

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fighting for the early years
workforce to be valued and funded.

00;16;09;13 - 00;16;14;15
And from the psychologist who studies
what happens in a child's brain

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when they learn to pay attention,
you'll hear from the parents

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who blog about chaos
and the beauty of raising young children

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from speech and language therapists

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who can explain why talking to your baby
matters more than any toy you could buy

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from the chief executives,
who are putting their own money

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and influence behind the argument
that early childhood

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is the best investment
a company or a country can make.

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This isn't a

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podcast that will lecture you
about what you should be doing.

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If you're already a parent,
you're doing more than you think.

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What this podcast will do
is explore together

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what the evidence says works
and what gets in the way.

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And I'll give the science to you
without the jargon,

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the practical, without the prescriptive,
and the honest conversations

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that parents, practitioners
and policymakers aren't having enough.

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Because here's what we've learned from

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over 100,000 visits to a baby's head.

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The early years are a time
when many parents feel unsure,

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they feel overwhelmed,
and sometimes they feel isolated,

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even when things are going well.

00;17;21;13 - 00;17;23;18
It doesn't always feel easy.

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The conversations don't stop.

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The comparisons are everywhere.

00;17;26;28 - 00;17;27;15
And the guilt,

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the sense that you should be doing more,
knowing more, being more is relentless.

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When families have the right support
through play,

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through evidence, informed guidance,
through someone

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simply saying what your child is doing
is completely normal.

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Everything changes not just for the child,

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but for the parent, for the whole family.

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That's what Best Beginnings is for.

00;17;52;11 - 00;17;55;21
So the science is settled
and the economics are clear.

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Those first years
that impact lasts forever.

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With your support, we can make them count.

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I'm George, and this is Best Beginnings,
a podcast brought to you by BBC.

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Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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And if you know someone that needs to hear
this.

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A new parent,
grandparent, practitioner or teacher

00;18;17;28 - 00;18;20;28
or someone that works in early years
policy, share it with them.

00;18;21;04 - 00;18;23;27
Because the more people who understand
what happens in the first

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five years of life,
the closer we get to a world where

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every child has the start they deserve.

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Let's begin.