Attention Must be Paid Every day a newborn baby's brain develops with phenomenal speed. While some might argue that genes predict this development, interactions with an attentive adult - in most cases, a mother - matter most. The intense involvement, through language and eye contact, of parent and child affects the number and sophistication of links within the brain, more than factors we usually emphasize, like gender and race. Researchers say that the number of words an infant hears each day may be the single most important predictor of later intelligence and economic and social success. This should be hopeful news, for it suggests that rich possibilities are open to every child, but the same research shows that verbal stimulation differs by income and education. On average, the child of professional parents hears about 2,100 words an hour; of working-class parents, 1,200 words. Parents on welfare speak about 600 words an hour. Professional parents give their children emotional encouragement 30 times an hour twice as often as the working-class baby and five times as often as the welfare baby. This wordplay is so important that those left behind at age 2 may never catch up. These findings come at a time when more than half of all mothers return to work before their baby is 1. Most working parents know in their hearts that "quality time" is no substitute for quantity time- the time that a child requires for emotional and, it now seems, intellectual development. What children need is the touching, holding, cooing, rocking, and stimulation that comes from a parent. Often there are class, educational, and increasingly - language differences between the parents and hired caretakers. Parents are therefore going to be challenged to find a better balance between raising their children and working, especially parents who are too tired and emotionally drained to give children the stimulus and engagement they need. When babies are cared for by caring adults, they become much better learners and are much more confident to take over the world. Attention is the greatest gift that parents can bestow. US News & World Report Word Count: 347