This includes the type of nourishment, care, surroundings and stimulation your child receives.
This article gives us a summary of the development which takes place in your child’s brain and what practical activities can be done to stimulate the development of your child’s brain.
Before Birth
At conception the sperm and egg meet to form a single cell determining the genetic potential. About 60% of the genes are dedicated to brain development. The brain produces many more cells than it will need. By the time the foetus is twenty weeks old, about half of these cells are deliberately shed. The remaining cells are organised into forty different physical areas that will broadly govern senses and skills such as vision, language and muscle movement.
The Infant and Toddlers
At birth the brain has developed the total 100 billion brain cells, or neurons. However, the brain is a work in progress. Most of the neurons are still immature. The cells need to be activated and the connections between neurons are weak or have not yet been formed. The child needs interaction that includes all senses, because his/her brain has already developed the neurons. We can only help to connect the neurons through care, touch, interaction, stimulating games and a safe environment.
At birth the infant can see, hear, smell and respond to touch. Almost immediately after birth the newborn’s brain begins to form trillions of connections and pathways between the neurons. Although genes begin the process of brain development, it is the experiences of the child that now start to take over this process. These experiences trigger the electrical activity necessary to enable the brain to develop connections and grow.
As the brain structure develops, the child will begin to reach the milestones associated with child development. Milestones in your child’s life, such as grabbing an object, making sounds and learning to speak, crawling and walking. The combination of the neurons and the formed pathways will form the unique composition of your child’s brain.
An 8 month old baby, growing up in a simulating, secure and loving environment will have roughly 500 trillion connections. By the age of two, an infant has developed around 1000 trillion of these connections – twice as many as the parents. Although the connections continue to form throughout life they have reached their highest density (15,000 synapses per neuron).
By the age of three, the foundations for future functioning are mostly established. Your child’s thinking, language, attitudes and aptitudes are almost completed. That sounds scary, but through mentoring, coaching and new ways of approaching children will guide them to break previous habits or situations. The child will be able to adapt to a new way of thinking.
Teenage and Early Adulthood
From the age of 10 until late adolescence, the brain begins to prune some of these connections. Those connections which are not sufficiently strong, have been neglected or are used infrequently are lost. An 18 year old will have the same amount of connections as an 8 month old. The result is a strong and powerful mind, but less ability to adapt. The connections remain stable, which will give you a unique personality. This will ultimately influence a child’s thoughts, emotions and reactions to situations
“A baby born with a potential for greatness encoded in his genes may turn out to have a gift for logic or a brilliant criminal mind, the direction defined by his early experiences.” – Nash, J.M. (1997). How a child’s brain develops. Time Magazine, 3 February. |