Imagine that you have a flight to catch at 2 p.m. Given the factors such as the distance to travel, the traffic conditions, and airport check-in time, you are likely to miss the flight unless you leave your house at 12 p.m. The hour between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. is your critical window to make sure that you catch the flight. Similarly, for a child, the first 1,000 days of his life are that critical window — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lay the foundation for future success. Brain development and maturation as well as adequate growth through nutrition must happen in this period, failing which the child will never reach their full potential.
What the science says
The science is undeniable. By the age of two years, the brain reaches almost 80% of its adult weight. Synapse development peaks during this time, with synaptic density reaching adult levels by preschool age. The development of the frontal lobes, which are believed to control higher cognitive functions (including planning, sequencing and self-regulation), happens in growth spurts during the first two years of life. If the foundational development of the brain and skills is flawed in these earliest days, later developments that build on earlier circuits and skills will be inherently limited.
It is not just cognitive development that is defined in the first 1,000 days. Nutritional deficiencies before the age of three are, in some cases, impossible to reverse. Although India has made strides in overcoming nutritional deficiencies in the decades between 1993 and 2021, at the current rate of decline, stunting prevalence (low height for age) will reach 10% only by 2075. Can we double the pace to hit this target by 2047? To succeed, we must seize the critical window of early childhood by combining efforts on nutrition and cognition, giving children the best chance at a bright future.
Nutrition and cognitive development have to go hand in hand. They are, for all intents and purposes, cut from the same cloth. Adequate nutrition is essential for brain function, and without meeting nutritional demands, there can be permanent cognitive damage or disabilities. A birth-cohort study in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, found that early childhood iron deficiency negatively impacts verbal performance and cognitive processing speed at age five and affects expressive language development before the age of two. Research has also indicated that the impact of stand-alone nutrition programmes was low to moderate when compared to combined nutrition and stimulation programmes. Learning is fast and permanent in the first few years. A three-year-old starts speaking in a regional language and never forgets it. Most of us still remember nursery rhymes, thanks to neuroplasticity.
Childcare programmes in India
The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme, one of the biggest childcare programmes in the world, has the unique ability to prioritise both nutrition and education as pillars of early childhood development. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched programmes such as “Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi”, which seek to ensure that nutrition and cognitive development go hand in hand.
Additionally, the National Framework for Early Childhood Stimulation for Children from Birth to Three Years – Navchetana provides structured guidance in the form of simple activities for social and cognitive stimulation based on the age of the child. The framework offers 140 activities tailored to the child’s age, presented in a 36-month stimulation activity calendar. It is designed to be used by parents, caregivers and Anganwadi or crèche workers, particularly during home visits. These provide an opportunity to learn through play-based activities supported by caregivers, rather than being ‘taught’ in a formal sense. Well-conducted home visits using the stimulation calendar will help children under the age of three receive adequate, timely, and nutrient-rich food to support their holistic development and reduce the risk of developmental delays due to nutritional deficits.
Areas that need improvement
Though an army of almost 14 lakh Anganwadi centres and workers is at the frontlines of the battle to ensure that children get adequate nutrition and stimulation, especially in the first 1,000 days, more needs to be done. The ICDS programme needs to enhance its coverage and achieve saturation of its target populations with high-quality services in health, nutrition and early learning. It needs to leverage advancements in technology, expand and enhance services in urban areas, and improve the access, capacity and delivery of pre-primary education, including evaluation and measurement of the health, learning and psychosocial well-being of children under six years.
Finally, to empower women to join the productive workforce, we need to expand the crèche provision by exploring multiple models including publicly-run, community-run and public-private partnerships.
We must remember we are what we eat and what we think — and what is lost in the early years can never be regained. Investing in early childhood nutrition and stimulation is not just about health. It is about empowering children and women to reach their full potential and meeting the evolving needs of society.
Investments in early childhood and investment are particularly urgent as we progress towards increased automation, mechanisation and an accelerated pace of technological advancement, which is likely to lead to less employment for low-skilled and unskilled workers.
Nina Badgaiyan is Senior Public Health Expert (Consultant) at the Asian Development Bank. Namya Mahajan is Co-founder at Rocket Learning
Published – August 25, 2025 12:08 am IST