The Raising of America is a new five-part documentary series that explores how conditions faced by children and their families during infancy and the early years can literally alter the developing brain and affect a child’s future success—in school and in life.

In this TEDxAtlanta talk, Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald discusses how baby’s brains are hardwired to learn, and how the number of words a child hears by age three can be an indicator for their performance in school and life.