Early Social Adversity

When babies are born they only respond to light and the voice of their main carer. As babies grow they become more interested in what is going on around them starting to react to more things, for example smile back when being smiled at. At 8 months their brain starts to develop dramatically and they will start to respond when in different environments. Babies explore toys by touching and tasting them mostly, but by the age of 12 months they should be able to use single words and respond to a simple request, such as can you get me a book? While

Between 6-9 months the baby’s brain will start to develop faster and faster at any other time during their life. Their memory will become quite strong they will repeat things over and over again. They will also learn what they are hearing which could be songs or rhymes or whilst they are being spoken to by parents siblings or strangers.

* First, studies have shown that aspects of experience can sculpt features of brain structure.

An explanation of the impact of current research into development and learning of babies and young children.

The babies communicate using pictures and emotional feelings to the others but is hard for them to communicate in this manner so they try to use their linguistic abilities.

A baby’s lips and tongue are extremely sensitive. This is how she learns about the environment around her because her mouth provides her with information. This is also another reason to check the environment and keep everything harmful out of reach. Touching is also very important in helping a child learn more about her environment. Chapter four discussed mental development.

The extent of nature and nurture on the development of the human brain has long been studied by neuroscientists and cognitive psychologists. Up to what degree does each variable play in each function of the brain? A group of psychologists recently conducted the largest correlational study looking for the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) of a family and its effects on the brain morphology and behavior of the children raised in them. Socioeconomic disparities have been shown to have profound effect on the cognitive development of a child, but this study went beyond the behavioral effects to the anatomical effects of one’s SES. Similar studies have looked at the anatomical differences among various race/ethnic groups but no study has been done linking socioeconomic status-parental education and family income specifically. This was the first attempt to separate these two variable and look at their correlation with cognitive development.

Research has shown that the way the caregiver and infant interact has a significant effect on the maturation of the infant's nervous system,

Did I even know what I was saying? Well, I am not sure, but I certainly did not know when to turn it on and off. Babies learn so much more from their surroundings than what we could by actively observing. I never had much knowledge of child development and how the brain develops from child to adult. Before, I had this basic comprehension that babies didn’t know what was going in the world until a certain age.

Next, his language is still developing at this point. I showed him a stuffed animal dog and asked him if he could identify it and tell me what it is. The infant gazed at it and responded “woof,woof,woof!” He responded by what the dog sounds like. Secondly, I asked him to point out his body parts. For example, his ears, eyes and belly button. That moment I said belly button he pointed at it. He was able to repeat names and his toys that he owned. As I began to speak in long-complex sentences he stared at me for a second and then looked away and started doing something else.

In chapter eight of Siegel’s book, we are introduced to the curious neuroplasticity mechanisms. Neuroplasticity is defined as “the ability of the brain to change its structure in response to experience” (Siegel, 2012, p. 8-1). What a beautiful and profound ability! Our brains are not rigid structures that come pre-assembled and ready for use. Our

Where I live, socioeconomic adversity is not an issue. Sure, there are some students who wear designer clothes every day and others who get all their clothes from Goodwill, but it does not affect the way we treat each other.

The definition of early life as a social determinant of health given by Rumbold and Dickson-Swift is “A good start in life means supporting mothers and young children.” (Rumbold & Dickson-Swift, 2012, p. 180). Early life describes the period from prenatal development to eight years of age, and is a time of remarkable brain growth and development, this period establishes the foundations for subsequent development and learning (Siddiqi, Irwin, & Hertzman, 2007).

The brain is such a complete organ in the body. The fact that as newborn we have about seventy percent of our neurons in the cortex in amazing. With all the feeling and sensory going on in the cortex it begins to make sense why young children show so many different emotions in such short periods of time as well as sensory “overload” or being overstimulated.

Advancement made in regard to cognitive neuroscience has enabled a better understanding of the cognitive processes in infants. Studies have indicated that cognitive development in infants starts before they are born. In the eighth week of pregnancy, fetuses have the ability to hear. They become accustomed to their