A detailed, impassioned argument from an early childhood development specialist that will change the way we think about the practical importance of the parent-child bondWeaving together neuroscience, strategies for parents, and policy prescriptions with powerful stories of adversity and hope, Dr. Dana Suskind, founder of the Thirty Million Words Initiative, offers a revelatory new look at early childhood and the often-unrecognized essentials for optimal brain development that parents are in the best position to deliver. Written with award-winning science writer Lydia Denworth, Parent Nation uses brain science to lead us ultimately to a society delivering far more robust support for the first years of life.The natural follow-up to Dr. Suskind's Thirty Million Words (Dutton, 2015), which revolutionized the way we understand parent-child communication, showing how important it is for children to hear as many spoken words as they can, Parent Nation goes further, definitively describing the critical improvements parents can make to a child's brain development. This book explains exactly what parents need to know about enhancing healthy brain development-how to physically interact with kids (at their level), how to talk about math, new ideas on how to build grit and character, among many other practical insights. Readers will see from fascinating research illustrated with compelling stories that across ethnicities, faiths, and the socio-economic spectrum, kids need essentially the same things when it comes to healthy brain development-and it all starts with the parents.