Brain Development

Early relationships and experiences is highly important in the brains physical development. The brains plasticity is at its highest in the first few years in the life of an individual. It is believed that nature and nurture are very interactive in producing an individual’s perception of the world. Early

“Social Scientists now believe that every single aspect of early life affects the brain pattern.” Intext citation For infants, nurturing brain growth immediately following birth is believed to be of utmost importance. Your pediatrician will monitor the growth of your baby’s head circumference for later cognition and the rest is up to you.

The environment and object in the environment play a large role in cognitive development around seven months old. What an infant learns to do naturally is just as important such as like learning to roll over or eat solid foods. Later in toddlerhood children learn symbols and language in pre-operational cognitive development stage which shows intelligence abilities.

After the time in the womb, the second period of life begins. This is considered to be after birth. This is another point in which brain development is influenced in a child. After birth there are five periods; the neonatal, infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, and adolescent periods. Each period is important in the brain development of a child, but the neonatal period is most crucial. The neonatal period is the first 28 days of life for a baby. This is most important because it sets the tone for the child’s development. Think of it this way, the neonatal period is like the beginning of a book. The opening paragraph or chapter sets the tone for the rest of the book. With this, come the influences that effect brain development for the rest of the child’s life. These influences are effects of the environment, nurture or neglect, and early childhood programs.

After doing a little research I have come to the conclusion that Early Childhood Education is the most rapid period of development in a human brain. The years from conception through birth to eight years of age critical to the complete and healthy cognitive, emotional and physical growth of children.

It has been stated that the brain is the most capable of changing and learning when a child is at a young age (Writing Exercise). Children have these brain cells, which have a blueprint to help them to develop their brain at a young age (Writing Exercise). Currently, most of the children that are in Canada are beginning to develop their brain well (Writing Exercise). However, in order for these children to develop their brain, they need to be in a social environment, but any form of schooling is highly expensive (Writing Exercise). In order for these children to get an early start on their brain development, they will be put in a “market-based” child care that has “high parent fees, low staff wages, unmet demand, and uncertain quality” (Writing

Essentially, neurological brain development means the development of the brain. Although the brain will continue developing throughout a lifetime, it is believed that 75% of this development will occur within the first 6 years of a child’s life. As a result of this, for this particular presentation I will be focusing on brain development from infants aged 0-8.

One thing I found especially interesting or important is that the infant brain starts to develop at three weeks during the gestation period. The brain continue to grow after the baby is born and throughout their lifetime. I also found it important that before birth and the first three years of life the brain grows its quickest. This is why during the embryonic and fetal period and the first three years of life the brain the brain is vulnerable and adaptability to any stressful or negative situation. The early years of a child is a window of opportunity to develop meaningful experiences that will have lasting effect on a child’s life.

According to the website, FactsForLife.org, “The first five years of a child's life are fundamentally important. They are the foundation that shapes children's future health, happiness, growth, development and learning achievement at school, in the family and community, and in life in general. Recent research confirms that the first five years are particularly important for the development of the child's brain, and the first three years are the most critical in shaping the child's brain architecture. Early experiences provide the base for the brain's organizational development and functioning throughout life. They have a direct impact on how children develop learning skills as well as social and emotional abilities.”

We now know that during the early years the brain has the greatest capacity for change. Neural plasticity, the brain’s ability to adapt with experience, confirms that early stimulation sets the stage for how children will continue to learn and interact with others throughout life. (5)

With your infant copy the baby sounds back to your child as this can help your infant understand how language is put together.

You live and you learn, from the moment that we breathe our first breath we begin to assimilate and acquire information. We have life changing learning experiences before we can even speak. As children, our learning process is grandiose, learning a magnitude of things before the age of 5. Harvard University published a series of summaries regarding research on Child development. One of these articles mentions that “The basic architecture of the brain is constructed through an ongoing process that begins before birth and continues into adulthood.” ("InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development," n.d.).

Before children are even born their brains have been developing for months, producing nerve cells and connections between those cells (“Brain Development”, 2017). Children are born with basic survival skills and reflexes in the brain. By the time children are two years old, their brains are 80% of their full, adult size.This first stage of development is called the sensorimotor stage. Most of the brain’s development has to do with what children experience, including developmental moments and sensations. Children tend to find out what objects are, or what they do, through a trial and error process such as, shaking objects, throwing objects, or putting objects in their mouths (“Piaget’s Model of Cognitive Development”). Furthermore, children have twice as many synapses as adult brains, including the ones that are strengthened the most by learning new things and the connections that are kept (“How Your Brain Changes With Age”,

Cognitive development during infancy is a path that is paved with complexity and exploration. The young minds of infants experience a spectacular amount of growth and development during the first two years of life. Some important things to note about an infant's cognitive development is that it occurs in stages, can be measured, and has many milestones.

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning, but for children, play is serious learning.” (Mr. Rogers) Children love to play with toys because it is an important form of communication. It is through this act that children can create a life in a world of fantasy and imagination. They can have an enjoyable relationship between playing and learning. The act of playing enables the process of the child 's learning since it facilitates the construction of physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development.