0-12 months

The brain is the only organ that is not fully developed at birth. From birth to about age 5, a child’s braindevelops more than at any other time during the life span. During the first year of a child’s life,
the brain will double in size. Most of the growth occurs in a part of the brain called the cerebellum, which is responsible for physical development and motor skills development. This development helps babies learn to manipulate their bodies in space for movement (body kinetics).

The visual cortex, the part of the brain that helps us see, changes rapidly, and baby starts to recognize faces. Also during the first year the limbic structure, the part of the brain that controls emotion and long-term memory, begins to develop, helping baby to become more aware of the world around him/her. This is also a critical phase where babies make sense of the world by acquiring and organizing information.

The soft spots called fontanelles, exist because the baby’s skull is not fully fused at birth. This serves the dual purpose of helping the head fit through the birth canal and allowing room for the brain to grow quickly during early childhood.

Early brain development has a lasting impact on a child’s ability to learn, to relate to others, to make

sense of the environment and succeed in school and life. So the quality of a child’s experiences in the first year and childhood years help shape how their brain develops.

From birth children’s brains need to get enough and healthy activation even before they enter pre-school. Without proper stimulation the neurological system runs the risk of not properly developing learning and memory functions.

NEURAL CONNECTIONS/ PATHWAYS/ SYNAPSES

The brain is the command center of the human body. A newborn baby is born with all of the brain cells(neurons) they’ll have for the rest of their life, but it’s the connections between these cells that reallymake the brain work.

Brain connections enable us to move, think, communicate, master skills and do just about everything. The early childhood years are crucial for making these connections. At least one million new neural connections (synapses) are made every second, more than at any other time in life.

The connections needed for many important, higher-level abilities like motivation, self-regulation, problem solving and communication are formed in these early years – or not formed. It’s much harderfor these essential brain connections to be formed later on in life.

HOW NEURAL CONNECTIONS/ SYNAPSES/ PATHWAYS ARE FORMED

•  From birth, children develop brain connections through their everyday experiences. They’rebuilt through positive or negative interactions with their parents and caregivers and by using their senses to interact with the world. The more they are exposed to this, the more the connection is strengthened and maintained.

•  A young child’s daily experiences determine which brain connections develop and which will lastfor a lifetime. If a child is treated with positivity and love they learn to relate to others positively (a synapse is created and maintained) and if neglected they learn to detach or pathologically attach to others (a synapse is also created and maintained).

•  The amount and quality of care, stimulation and interaction they receive in their early years makes all the difference with the first year of life being more crucial. It is in the first year that important pathways in the brain are formed like attachment, make sense of language/communication, develop an awareness of self, develop problem solving skills, develop an understanding of basic emotions etc. and a whole lot more important skills that will last throughout the life span.

•  During the first year of a child’s life and childhood years (0-5 years) with 0-3 years being more critical, they will form synapses at a faster rate than at any other time of life. They’re actuallyproducing many more than they need, and not all of them will make it to adulthood (through a process called pruning the brain gets rid of what’s not important or not maintained). This allows them to learn things more quickly than adults do.

•  Genes play a part in synapse formation, however brain development is heavily influenced by external things (epigenetics). Genes fuel this mass synapse formation, while the environment fine tunes the brain and helps it make decisions about which pathways to keep and which to get rid of. The more often a synapse is used, or the more often a skill or idea is practiced or heard, the stronger that synapse gets. This means that things that are used often, like language, andwalking, stay ingrained in a child’s brain, while things that are neglected disappear. This process also happens in adult’s brains, but at a much slower rate. This explains why babies are forever interested in everything in their environment, the brain is at work and needs a lot of positive input to help it develop.

THINKING SKILLS DEVLOPMENT DURING THE FIRST YEAR

•  Baby learns the concept of cause and effect meaning they can make things happen for example shaking a rattle produces music.

•  Baby is also developing a sense of safety and security.

•  They are also learning object permanence – the ability to form mental representations of objects even when not in sight. This a fundamental thinking skill for use in later life for problem solving, creativity, etc.

•  The memory of familiar faces, places, routines, sounds gets better and they start anticipating for familiar people, toys, meals etc.

•  An interest in objects, shapes, colours, music develops.
• o Crying becomes more purposeful (a tool of communication) that is crying for things, people,
• food, soothing, if not well etc.
•  Problem solving is developed for example a baby can learn to roll over to reach for a toy instead of crying.

• Self-control is developed during the first year. At first newborns have very little, if any, self-
• control. It is natural for infants to fuss when they are frustrated as this is a way to let parents or caregivers know that they need something. With calmness, love and support they learn to regulate themselves.

•  Self-confidence is developed – babies that are encouraged in a positive and loving environment will learn confidence to try new things in their environment easily.

ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES

Research has shown that children who experience more positive interactions in their early years go on to be healthier and more successful in school and in life. Unfortunately the opposite is true, children who experience trauma, neglect and other negative life experiences in infancy are more likely to develop mental disorders that last the life span and affect development of critical brain skills like executive function.

Poverty, exposure to family violence and lack of access to quality early learning experiences cannegatively impact a child’s early brain development, and subsequently, their long-term success.

STIMULATION FOR BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

•  Infants and toddlers learn through play so engaging them in play and making time for them to play goes a long way in brain development.

•  Play along with baby to encourage him/her to explore and learn – respond to their cooing and bubbling sounds etc.

•  Be patient and have a sense of humor when playing with baby – at this stage they depend heavily on your cues to interpret situations and behavior accordingly.

•  To encourage self-control it is helpful to stay calm most of the times – how you respond to situations is what they will learn. Comfort baby when they cry and respond to their needs.

•  Babies thrive on routine it doesn’t have to be rigid but knowing what to expect helps with self-control.

•  Make baby feel loved by holding them close and speaking to them softly.o Cheer for her and smile at her as often as possible.
• o Sing to the baby and play soothing music to them.

•  Start reading to them, talk to them and showing books with pictures to them – this helps with language development and acquisition.

KEY POINTS ON HOW TO NURTURE OPTIMAL BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AT THIS STAGE

•  A good relationship with your child is the foundation of his or her healthy development they need you more physically and emotionally at this stage more than any other stage of development

•  Their development depends on both the traits he or she was born with (nature), and what he or she experiences (nurture) so as the parents or caregiver make sure you maximize positive experiences that is attend to their needs with calmness and love.

•  All areas of development (social, emotional, intellectual, language and motor) are linked. Each depends on, and influences, the others.

•  What children experience, including how their parents respond to them, shapes their development as they adapt to the world.

•  Check developmental milestones and look for any signs of delays and get child checked out immediately.

FACTORS AFFECTING BRAIN DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

•  Poor nutrition.
•  Lack of resources.
•  Gender – in some communities boys get preferential treatment compared to girls from infancy.
• Poverty – making it difficult to access good health facilities for children.
•  Lack of knowledge in parents and caregivers.

In conclusion the notion of ‘Tabula rasa’ Latin for “blank slate” as used in Developmental Psychology postulates that individual human beings are born “blank” with no built-in mental content and that their identity is defined entirely by events after birth somehow fit into the dynamics of brain development.

However it is still important to note that children still have individuality from infancy, will develop at their own pace and in their own way and they are different. So take time to understand your child, their strengths and where support might be needed to promote a healthy brain development. If they are not developing well and there are areas of concern, consult with a pediatrician.

Talent Adamson Behaviour Therapist

BA (Health and Social Services) Applied Psychology, BA Hon (HSS) Psychological Counselling – (UNISA)