DENVER -- Babies coo, drool, eat and cry.

But Colorado Bright Beginnings knows, in those early months and years they are also learning at lightning speed.

Forget videos and toys to entice and educate babies.

As it turns out, parents or caregivers are the teachers who will make the biggest difference in their lives.

"This is the book I brought for you. This book is for big 2-year-old boys," said Nancy Acceta during a home visit for Bright Beginnings.

Owen Li does not know it yet. But Acceta is helping to give him a leg up in life.

"I've been here before," said Acceta to Owen as they played on the floor during her third visit to the home.

Acceta's father founded Colorado Bright Beginnings, a non-profit program, after reaching a bold conclusion that was really before its time.

The conclusion was that the first three years of life are the most critical in ensuring a child's success later in life.

"The natural support for those crucial years, 0 to 3, was disappearing," said Acceta of the time period in which her father researched child development.

The free program includes home visits, learning materials, hands-on instruction and emotional support.

"Each one of these phases (of development) the parents have a completely different set of needs, the kids have a different set of needs," Acceta said.

Colorado Bright Beginnings is free to families who register for the program and offered to any Colorado parent who wants the support, regardless of income or background.

"There are 64,000 babies born in Colorado every year. We want to see all of them," Acceta said.

"It was so easy," said Owen’s mother, Valerie Li.

Li admits, she was overwhelmed without family nearby when Owen was born.

"Literally, I made one phone call. They set it up, they came out, they gave us resources,” Li said.

She said the extra support from Colorado Bright Beginnings gave her confidence in her natural parenting skills.

"Both reassuring you about what you’re doing and encouraging you to do different things," she said.

Li can already see the positive impact the program is having on Owen.

"Owen engages so easily with all the activities. He has a phenomenal vocabulary and really associates well between words and pictures," Li said.

The program does not require any special videos, toys or tools.

Dr. Alison Gopnik, a professor of psychology, author and leading cognitive scientist focusing on the first 3 years of life, says parents should not waste their money on products that claim to make their babies smarter.

"The best thing we can say about those things is they're useless and the worst we can say is we know babies learn from real people and real interactions. Babies watching videos aren't interacting with people in the ways they really need to know," Gopnik said. "The Baby Einstein’s and the tapes and the flash cards aren't teaching them things that are most important to them, like figuring out how other people work," Gopnik added.

She supports the work of Colorado Bright Beginnings because it is backed by science.

"Thirty years ago, most people thought little babies were irrational, egocentric blank slates," she said.

Her research has uncovered babies actually learn more, know more, care more and experience more than we ever would have thought before.

"What babies are learning about are the things around them, mixing bowls, cardboard boxes, the way the world works and most importantly they're learning about other people," Gopnik said.

And the only thing they need to accomplish that, Gopnik said, is us.

"Not only are we babies favorite toys, we're also the most educational toy a baby can ever have," she said.

For Li and her son Owen, keeping it simple has proven to be powerful.

Since 1995, Colorado Bright Beginnings has helped more than 100,000 Colorado families unleash the power of parenting.

The program relies on donors and volunteers for support.

To make a donation of time or money, or to learn more about getting a home visit ColoradoBrightBeginnings.