The first few years of a child's development can be critical to setting them up for success.

Dr. Donna Grigsby is the chief of General Academic Pediatrics at Kentucky Children's Hospital.

She says there are things we can do both as parents and as a community to help children have a strong start in life.

Giving parents the talk.

Parents, in many cases are a child's first teacher and giving those parents the tools that they need either through counsel, through advice, or let's make sure you've got the resources you need to be successful to give your child the best opportunity.

And then starting early so that when and if you see children who live in poverty that don't get that stimulation, there are already gaps By the time they're three years old and sometimes as early as nine months old.

You can see the differences in their vocabulary, in their developmental milestones.

So my argument would be, let's start from the very end, from the very earliest child.

Give those parents or those child care providers or those caregivers the tools they need to help that child be successful so that when they get to preschool, we don't see that gap because it's hard for them for those children to overcome that gap, because even though they'll make strides, you know, that's why Headstart such a fabulous program, because they work with those children.

They work very hard to get those children ready for school and to eliminate those gaps that we may see in some children.

And my argument would be, let's back up and let's yes, Headstart is a wonderful resource for our families, but let's help our help our families even sooner.

And as soon as that baby's born or as soon as we know that mother's pregnant, let's start talking to them about all the things that can impact their child's health, which will ultimately impact their success.

And you can see more of Dr. Grigsby.

Interview hosted by Dr. Wayne Tuckson by logging on to K.T.

Dawg and clicking on Kentucky Health.

And you can hear more from experts about ways to establish a foundation for learning during a child's first years of life.

By watching Smart Start, a special report, which is also available online on demand at KCET dot org.