Research during the past decade has revealed much about how children learn and develop. Studies have shown that early childhood is a time when developmental changes are happening that can have profound and lasting consequences for a child’s future. Research has also shown that much more is going on cognitively, socially, and emotionally in young children – including infants – than scientists or care and education professionals previously knew. This book covers all aspects of theory and knowledge in current understandings of child development and the consequences for children of risk exposure in low- and middle-income countries by integrating empirical evidence from development economics with insights from allied social science disciplines. This book provides state of the art research and its implications for what educators and other adults who work with children need to know and be able to do in order to best support children’s healthy development.