5 Reasons To Feed Your Child's Brain Before Age 5

Your Brain was 90% Developed by Age 5. Now think about your children - there is a relatively small window in which you can influence your child's intellectual and social development.

There are many obvious and essential needs that an infant or child has during his/her early years. Most parents know to feed, dress, and bathe their child. However, the importance of early brain stimulation is often forgotten! This is easy to forget since babies and young children have limited communication skills. Regardless, parents must remember to make constant efforts to communicate with their child and offer them brain stimulation throughout the day, as the first 5 years of a child’s life are the most developmentally transformative.

Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child outlines 5 reasons why brain stimulation is critical during a child’s first 5 years.

1. The human brain develops over time- Early brain stimulation, or lack thereof, determines the strength of the architectural foundation of the brain. Having a strong foundation is important for a person’s health and behavior throughout their life. The brain develops rapidly during its first few years, building over 700 neural pathways! This rapid development slows down throughout a person’s lifetime so it is important to foster brain stimulation during a child’s early years.

2. Interaction is key to healthy brain development- Infants and young children initiate interaction through gestures, babbling, and facial expressions. It is crucial for parents and/or caregivers to respond appropriately to these initiations. Appropriate responses develop areas of the brain responsible for language and behavior. Talking to, hugging, or holding a child supports the development in parts of the brain that promote emotional competence and social skills, paving the way to a healthy future. Inappropriate responses, or a not responding at all to a child’s initiation of interaction may cause poor development in those areas.

3. The brain is most flexible and malleable in its early years of development- At first, the brain is capable of internalizing a wide array of experiences and skills. Every time an infant sees, smells, tastes, hears, or feels something unknown to him, a new neural connection is developed in his brain. However, as a person ages, the brain’s function becomes more specialized and less able to accommodate new experiences. For example, a young child learns her native language within the first few years of her life. Although it is possible for an adult to learn a new language, it is much easier for a child to do so because once the brain has matured, it becomes less flexible and increasingly difficult to learn new skills.

4. Brain functions are intertwined and interact throughout the life span- Functions such as emotional well-being, social competence, and cognitive abilities interact maximally in the brain. Ensuring proper development of these functions during childhood provides a solid foundation in those areas throughout a person’s lifetime.

5. Toxic stress can damage a developing brain- Although a moderate amount of stress is normal and can often be positive, extreme stress might cause damage to a developing brain. Heavy amounts of stress during development may damage the brain’s architectural foundation and can actually become part of the brain’s natural structure. Having supportive and caring relationships starting from a young age can help combat toxic stress and as a result reduce future health risks.

Investing time and effort into early childhood brain stimulation has significant long-term benefits. Frequent interaction and verbal communication can go a long way! It helps lay down a strong foundation for a child’s lifetime of social interaction as an effective member of society.

Resources:

• http://46y5eh11fhgw3ve3ytpwxt9r.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/InBrief-The-Science-of-Early-Childhood-Development.pdf

• http://www.factsforlifeglobal.org/03/1.html

• http://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/toxic-stress/

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