The Whole Brain Child Guides Parents Through The Science Behind A Child's Developing Brain

My professional and academic interest in child development and neuroscience began in earnest with a field experience at the Mrs. Chris Play & Learn during my junior year of high school. I was fortunate to work with infants to pre-K ages children. During my time, I was able to observe their interactions with other children and adults, particularly their developmental changes. This experience greatly impacted me because my life devotion became to create equality in early childhood education. My education and experience over the past decade has prepared me for a career in educational neuroscience utilizing early childhood interventions to address learning discrepancies in different socioeconomic statuses. I attended Morehouse School of Medicine

1. Brain Based Research: What does this tell us about young children 's brains and how they best learn? What ideas do teachers of young children need to keep in mind?

I agree with the strategy that you used with your aggressive infant. Most children “act out” because they are upset and they do not know how to express themselves. Children, according to Beaty (2014, p. 125), “must learn how to express their feelings in words”. I liked how you got down to the infants level. When I am talking to my students who are shorter than I am, I will kneel down so that I am at their eye level. I never want them to feel as if I am intimidating them.

Tree-ear, a homeless boy, from the story “A Single Shard” and Izidor Ruckel, a Romanian orphan for the article “Orphans Lonely Beginnings Reveal How Parents Shape A Childs Brain” come from totally different backgrounds but have a lot in common. Both the story and the article show the importance of having parents.

Infant learning and brain development is fragile and contingent upon numerous intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The most critical time frame for infant brain development is from the second trimester to the first three months of life (Marshall, 2011). During this time, neural pathways are forming, areas of the brain are maturing, and brain development is rapid. From infancy until the age of 3 years, neural pathways are still being formed in response to stimulation and for this reason, it is extremely important for caregivers and parents to be aware of the many factors that can influence brain development in infants (Marshall, 2011).

Technological advances in the past decade have allowed scientists to study the brain in ways that have led to new understanding about how young children develop. There is a new understanding of both the capabilities and the vulnerabilities of infants and young children and that understanding is has influenced the work of caregivers and teachers. During pregnancy, the basic architecture of the brain is formed. Although, certain experiences do influence the developing brain during pregnancy, such as maternal health and stress, intake of drugs and/or alcohol, and quality of maternal nutrition.

Throughout every child's life, there is always a point where that little child will grow up and fully become an adult. Some individuals say that they become an adult at the age of 16 (when they are old enough to drive). Others say when teenagers become 18-years-old and have the right to vote. Then there are those who believe that 21 is the magic number and that it is the age they can drink alcohol. Even though certain individuals have different opinions, the most important part about teenagers becoming an adult is when their brains fully mature and are able to take responsibility for their actions.

I often look at newborns in amusement and wonder what were are thinking about. Never did I stop for a moment to think about the complex wiring of the brain. It is known that the complete development of the brain is necessary for the normal physical and mental processes of a person but I wrongly assumed that such development is completed before birth.

After a year of implementing a specific discipline for my daughter’s temper tantrums, I witnessed my daughter exercise self-control at the age of three. Temper tantrums were her specialty. When my daughter flew out of control I would put her in her room until she calmed down. Then she was allowed to rejoin the family and finish the task she was asked to do, or apologize depending on the circumstances. In this particular instance, when my daughter got angry she picked up her blanket and stomped upstairs crying without me saying a word other than she couldn’t play her musical instruments in the same room while her sister was watching television. She stayed upstairs for about ten minutes. After that, she came downstairs and proceeded to play quietly. I sat there in utter amazement! She had disciplined herself.

Children ages 4 to 5 years old, or kindergarten grade, experience rapid changes in their cognitive, social-emotional, and physical characteristics of development. An effective teacher organizes and designs his or her classroom around these progressions in order to promote healthy brain and bodily development throughout their life. As illustrated in the textbook, Educational Psychology, Fifth Edition, by John W. Santrock, “(The) commonly promoted link between neuroscience and brain education is that there is a critical, or sensitive, period – a biological window of opportunity – when learning is easier, more effective, and more easily retained that later in development” (Santrock, 2011, p. 39). Therefore, it is essential for brain development

Children are exceptional cognitive learners. They have the ability to observe, mimic and retain information by way of their senses. From zero months to five years of age, children are dependent on their cognitive skills to develop and learn within their environment. In my opinion, children are the prime example of the unbound potential that humans to learn. I will be discussing what cognitive learning is and how it contributes to learning and if right versus left-brain dominance impacts how we use our cognitive skills.

The human brain is not fully developed until one is in his or her mid twenties. Therefore, the statement “the brain development has finished by the time children reach puberty” is not true. Although it does not completely develop during puberty, the brain does go through significant changes during this period. By this time many basic functions needed for life are developed, but the frontal lobe is still not completely developed. This means that until one is around the age of 25 he or she is neither able to make the best decisions nor have the best judgement.

The child’s brain is similar to Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow and other nursery rhymes. The brain is always expanding and learning new concepts within the brain itself. In the case of the child’s brain, some of these words are important, secondary, and minor within the human brain.

Children are the bundles of joy of each family. Having a child in a family means laughs, jokes, playing, and a fun time with this child. No matter how bad the day was, as soon as parents see their child smiles, they forget all about the bad day, and smile back at their child. In fact, some parents wish to stay 24 hours with their children to enjoy their first smiles, first laughs, first words, and first steps. For most of them, all their time with their children is enjoyable, except one particular time. When children throw tantrums, when a child whines, cries, screams, throws him/herself on the floor, and maybe runs out of the house with no known reason, most parents wish not to be in their child’s presence because of the screaming. Parents, in order to overcome these tantrums, deal with their children in many different ways. However, the question remains asked over years: What’s the best way to deal with toddlers’ tantrums?

Avoid rushing to correct mistakes a child has committed. Children are learning to cope and function. They will persist and practice to their heart’s content whatever skill they need to acquire, until they master it. If a child starts throwing things around and disrespecting the environment, by all means, stop her. Yet, explain why you had to stop her. Reason and listen to what the child may have to say. Maria Montessori said that “a child’s first tantrums are the first ills of her soul.” There is always a reason for everything. Try to bring the reason to light. Punishing, isolating the child, etc., will only feed her pain, and burry deep those reasons—she will learn to hide rather than communicate.