We know by now that the early childhood years are some of the most critical years in a child’s life, especially in terms of cognitive development. By the time a child is three years old, the brain will form over 1,000 trillion connections, which is actually twice the amount of connections in adult brains.
That’s why the first few years of a child’s life is a critical time in shaping a child’s positive growth and brain development, for that’s when the brain is said to be absorbing information like a sponge.
The capacity to learn is a combination of nature (genetics) and nurture (environment). Nature provides a complex system of brain circuitry, but how it is wired depends upon a child’s environment (surroundings, stimulation, nutrition, etc), and experiences, coupled with stimulation. These are the keys to influencing how the brain circuits are wired. The question is, can these kinds of stimulations be acquired at home?
The critical years
While it takes 15-20 years for the brain to fully develop, most of the critical connections are made during a child’s early years of life. Whatever children experience with their parents and caregivers, be they positive or negative experiences, will affect how a child’s brain develops. Some of these experiences will leave a life-long impact on a child’s life.
Look for teachable moments
Everyday experiences offer windows of learning for children, even though they may seem too young to understand. The next time you are having a meal or snack, take the opportunity to name the foods, their colors, and even the shape if possible. You can even count them out loud. When you can, name things that are the same, different, bigger, smaller, hot, cold, etc. In other words, teach your little one as much as you can about the meal, what it does for his or her body, where it comes from, how it tastes like, etc.
There are countless teachable moments in a child’s life, so grab every opportunity to feed that little brain with things that are well worth learning.
Ensure consistency in loving care
If a child is in a loving setting, they will learn to love. Children who are ignored or not nurtured will not fully develop in certain areas of their brains. Unlike animals that rely heavily on instinct, a human baby is a most socially influenced creature on earth, with a brain that is the least “hard-wired”, and the most flexible. Consequently, a baby’s brain requires to be shaped by experience. Babies’ earliest experiences with their parents help shape what is to become of them as adults. Emotions do count in terms of parenting, and humans learn how to feel and handle feelings as babies – and this affects their behaviour and thinking capabilities.
Studies using brain images have revealed that a mother’s love physically affects the volume of her baby’s hippocampus. (Hippocampus is the region of the brain that is used for learning, memory and stress responses). Children of nurturing mothers had hippocampal volumes 10 percent larger than those whose mothers are not nurturing, loving, caring, etc.
Loving responses of parents may reap the following benefits:
- It helps a baby’s nervous system to mature without being overstressed.
- Promotes a healthy immune system
- Contribute to your baby’s ability to respond to stress
- It helps to build up a baby’s prefrontal cortex and the ability to hold information in mind, to reflect on feelings, to hold back impulses and be well-adjusted in future social relationships. This area of the brain develops almost entirely after the baby is born, and does not mature until toddlerhood.
- Lots of positive experiences as a baby, such as being smiled at and coddled, produce brains with more neuronal connections, which in turn contributes to a smarter brain.
The negative impact of childhood neglect
Childhood neglect damages developing brains, resulting in effects that may even be likened to being physically abused. Research has revealed that children who spent their first two years in the orphanage showed high levels of developmental problems, cognitive deficits, mental illness, and significant reductions in brain size. When the researchers measured the sheer amount of activity generated by the brains of children who’d been isolated as toddlers, they paled in comparison to those who came from loving families.
A child’s diet matters
Nutrition is one of the most important factors in making your kid smart, along with genetics and brain stimulation. Babies between 1 to 3 have brains that grow at the fastest rate ever. Giving them the right nutrition to facilitate brain development is critical at this stage. The effects of brain nourishment at the childhood stages can last a lifetime, according to the latest scientific studies. Think antioxidants, Omega 3 fatty acids, Choline, and complex carbohydrates.
Children who were malnourished between the time they were in their mother’s womb and two years of age are found to have brains that are smaller than normal. This inadequate brain growth usually results in behavioral and cognitive problems throughout a child’s life, which includes lower IQ, slower language and motor development, and poorer school performance.
In regards to an infant’s early nutrition, breast milk contains a mixture of ingredients such as long-chain fatty acids, proteins, and amino acids that commercial formula manufacturers find hard to replicate. These nutrients may be responsible for the development of neural tissue.
Pay attention to language and hearing.
Repetition forms connections, so talking to a child, even a baby, helps when it comes to language development! Name what you are doing, name items, point, and show the expression on your face. It is easier for children to learn two languages than it is for adults. For example, children whose parents speak English and Mandarin strengthen their use of both languages when the language-learning areas of the brain are used in childhood.
How exercise helps to make your child smarter
Exercise increases the flow of blood to the brain. The blood delivers oxygen and glucose, which the brain needs for heightened alertness and mental focus. Because of this, exercise makes it easier for children to learn.
A decade-old study done in the Columbia University Lab reveals that a 3-month exercise regimen can increase blood flow to the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning by 30%. Exercise builds up the body’s level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF causes the brain’s nerve cells to branch out, join together, and communicate with each other in new ways, which leads to a child’s openness to learning and more capacity for knowledge.
What you should know about music and the human brain
Music has a powerful effect on our emotions. A quiet, gentle lullaby can soothe a fussy baby, and a majestic chorus can make us swell with excitement. That’s not all though, for music also can affect the way a baby thinks.
Music seems to prime our brains for certain kinds of thinking. After listening to classical music, adults can do certain spatial tasks more quickly, such as putting together a jigsaw puzzle. How come? Well, classical music’s pathways in our brain are similar to the pathways we use for spatial reasoning. When we listen to classical music, the spatial pathways are “turned on” and ready to be used. This priming makes it easier to work a puzzle quickly, although the effect lasts only a short time. Our improved spatial skills fade within about an hour after we stop listening to the music.
However, learning to play an instrument can have longer-lasting effects on spatial reasoning. In several studies, children who took piano lessons for six months improved their ability to work puzzles and solve other spatial tasks by as much as 30 percent. Researchers believe that musical training creates new pathways in the brain.
Babies need to be nurtured to grow up smart
Babies grow smarter with lots of love, so here are some actions that speak by themselves when it comes to showing a baby some love:
- Handle and interact with your baby. Establish eye contact and communicate with your eyes, as it helps the baby feel secure and know that you are always there in times of need.
- Be sensitive to your baby’s changing mood and states, and respond to them.
- Teach your baby to differentiate between the feelings of anger, annoyance, and irritation by engaging in baby talk and mirroring those feelings so the baby can learn about what he or she is going through.
- Breastfeed. This is one activity where the baby feels at peace and loved. This activity soothes the mother too
- If you have to put your kid in childcare, make sure that the caregiver really pays attention to the child. It is the kind of care that counts more than you can imagine
Pave the way for a clever, creative child. Here’s how:
- Encourage the use of their senses. Touching, feeling, smelling, hearing and of course looking. All kinds of sensory activities benefit a child’s brain development. New connections are created when children explore their environment through their senses. About 95% of all information is received through seeing, touching, and hearing.
- Establish routines. Create routines around mealtimes, nap time, and other important parts of the day. Routines help children feel secure and more in control of their lives
- Show love. Caring for a child via physical contact will provide them with the sense of security they need to thrive. They’ll also be better equipped to establish caring relationships with others, which is yet another aspect of healthy development.
- Watch their diet, for it’s in your hands. Children do not naturally know what’s good for their health, so it’s up to you to serve a variety of food that is nutritious whilst following the recommended number of servings and serving sizes for your child’s age.
- Read out loud everyday! One of the most important things that can be done to enhance your child’s brain development is to read aloud every day with him or her.
