I thought this was an interesting article I found in an education magazine.....
Not All Academic: Brain Development in the Early Years
I’ve been reading a lot of articles lately about the growing number of parents who are concerned about getting their children into the best “academic” preschools to ensure they do well when they begin their formal schooling. Some are even signing their babies up before they are born!
Given the research on early brain development, trying to create a “super baby” or “super child” doesn’t make sense. In fact, it runs counter to what we know about how a child’s brain develops.
Let’s take a look at the origins of this surge of interest in the early years.
Revised Beliefs
In the past decade, we’ve seen an explosion of information in the field of brain research (neuroscience). No longer the mysterious “black box,” as once was thought, researchers can actually see what is going on inside our skulls while we interact with our environment. This is especially fascinating when it comes to brain development in young children.
Contrary to an earlier belief that a baby’s brain was a blank slate, scientists have discovered that learning begins before birth (babies are born recognizing their mother’s voice and music they heard while in the womb). We also now know that young children learn faster than was ever thought possible. In fact, in the first three to four years the young child’s brain develops connections (synapses) between cells at an amazing rate, one that will never be duplicated again during the child’s life.
Unfortunately, this information has been misinterpreted by some to mean babies and young children need extra stimulation during this critical period. This is not only an oversimplification of the research. It is not true.
The fiction: Synapses represent learning, and the more synapses a child has the smarter he’ll be.
The fact: In truth, the brain overproduces connections in the first two years, and an important part of learning and development is to prune away the unnecessary ones.
For example, babies are born with millions of cells that potentially allow them to pronounce the sounds of every language spoken in the world. However, only the connections for sounds of the language they hear everyday are strengthened. The ones not used are simply pruned away, which allows children to understand, and eventually speak, the language spoken at home.
The fiction: Enriched environments are essential during the early years to develop a child’s brain to its fullest potential.
The fact: Excessive use of flash cards, workbooks, language tapes and “educational” computer games is not only inappropriate, it also deprives children of the natural interaction with their world so important to development.
As Stephen Meltzoff states in his book, The Scientist in the Crib, perhaps the question parents need to ask is not: What is the effect of the environment on the brain? But rather: What is the effect of a deprived environment versus a normal or an enriched environment?
Rich Surroundings
First, let’s consider the deprived environment. We know the ability to speak a language is lost by about age 10 if children, because of deafness or lack of exposure to language, do not master this skill in their early years. Being raised in a severely impoverished environment can cause a child’s emotional growth to be stunted, as reported in the studies of Romanian orphans. But fortunately, most children are not raised under severely deprived conditions.
But does an enriched environment somehow change a child’s development? Is it really better? Can we produce “super babies?” Or are high-priced toys marketed to frantic parents a waste of time and money?
The bottom line is that there is no proof extra stimulation is necessary for cognitive or social growth. Rather, too much activity may result in overstimulation and damage to a young child.
A better solution is for parents to take the simple approach and read nursery rhymes and books by Dr. Seuss to the child. They are ideal because they introduce children to sounds that are alike, which is a natural introduction to beginning phonics.
Educators need to explain to parents that the human brain is innately curious and designed to learn. Young children are driven to master their world. Hands-on play is best because it gives children a chance to explore their own interests with the support of involved adults.
No, TV is not evil. Baby Einstein is not bad. But raising a happy, healthy child is a matter of finding balance. Mostly, children need models of appropriate social interactions and a physically and psychologically safe haven in which to grow up. Given a rich, varied, natural environment, this will happen without a lot of intervention. I believe parents know instinctively what they need to do to raise their kids well. They simply need to relax and trust their intuition.
— Patricia Wolfe
