It's the first day of kindergarten – is your child ready to learn? That's the question The Urban Child Institute is aiming to help parents address with the release of their new "Kindergarten Readiness Begins at Birth" handbook. In it, the organization summarizes best practices to promote optimal brain development during early childhood, and outlines ways parents can work to ensure their child develops basic mental, emotional, and social skills needed to succeed in school.

There is much that parents can do to provide the greatest opportunities for their son or daughter right from birth. In Memphis, many of our children are already at a disadvantage in learning before they even step through the schoolroom door. Only 42 percent of our city's children arrive at kindergarten prepared to learn. And studies show that when a child starts behind, he will probably stay behind.