Children are born with almost a full quota of neurons – white spaces (blanks) – in the brain. Through experience these spaces are connected to increase cognitive development.

Best years of Life

from 1/4 at birth to fully grown at age 5

At birth, the average baby’s brain is about a quarter of the size of the average adult brain. Incredibly, it doubles in size in the first year. It keeps growing to about 80% of adult size by age 3 and 90% – nearly full grown – by age 5.

From birth to age 5, a child’s brain develops more than at any other time in life. And early brain development has a lasting impact on a child’s ability to learn and succeed in school and life. The quality of a child’s experiences in the first few years of life – positive or negative – helps shape how their brain develops.

THE SUPERHIGHWAY

‘the white matter pathways’

Structure of the brain – So how does this work?

Neuron form part of the outer layer of the brain. The neuron consists of two parts the central body and the dendrils. The dendrils catch information, collect, scans and transfers information to the correct centres.

In this way pathways are created in the brain to pass on information and store in different regions

Storage Areas (memory)

A number of brain regions/centres are involved in reading and comprehension. Among them are:

• the temporal lobe, which is responsible for phonological awareness and for decoding and discriminating sounds;
• Broca’s area in the frontal lobe, which governs speech production and language comprehension; and
• the angular and supramarginal gyrus, which link different parts of the brain so that letter shapes can be put together to form words.

In order to read and comprehend, this highway system must be wide enough for multiple pieces of information to travel at the same time. The highway must also be smooth, so that information can flow at a high rate of speed. Professor Gaab says, “You don’t want the information to stop. You don’t want a lot of stop lights.”

There are several important white-matter pathways involved in reading. Professor Gaab likens these tracts to a highway system that connects the back of the brain’s reading network to the front. In order to read and comprehend, this highway system must be wide enough for multiple pieces of information to travel. The highway must also be smooth, so that information can flow at a high rate of speed. And, she says, “You don’t want the information to stop. You don’t want a lot of stop lights.”

Reading ability in young children is related to the growth of the brain’s white matter tracts which links these language centres with parts of the brain that process visual information.

Stimulate the brain

“The brain is developing the most rapidly in the first five years, and kids who have more stimulating experiences are at a huge advantage when they get to school… And it’s really harder and harder for kids to catch up if they arrive behind.”

WHAT WORKS – STIMULATING EXPERIENCE

Recent studies done by the Reading & Literacy Discovery Center of Cincinnati’s Children’s Hospital provide neurobiological evidence for the potential benefits of reading and the potential detriments of screen time on a preschool child’s brain development.

Dr. John Hutton, lead author, paediatrician and clinical researcher at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital says:

“Children are born with more neurons than they’ll ever have in their life, essentially a blank slate,” Hutton said.

“Depending on what type of stimulation the child has with caregivers

• being talked to,
• being held,
• going outside,
• being read to 

These stimuli reinforces connections between these neurons.”

Experience consolidates “hardwires” those connections in the brain, Hutton said. But any that aren’t well used are pruned by the brain and die off.

“And even though the brain can change and learn at all ages, it’s much more efficient in the first five years, and that’s why those early childhood experiences are so important,” he said.

WHAT IMPEDES LEARNING

SCREENS

Most people know that taking away screens and, reading to our children during the formative years of birth to age 5 boosts brain development. We all know that’s true, but now science can convince us with startling images.

A new study scanned the brains of children 3 to 5 years old and found those who used screens more than the recommended one hour a day without parental involvement had lower levels of development in the brain’s white matter — an area key to the development of language, literacy and cognitive skills.

The studies have also shown that excessive TV viewing is linked to

• the inability of children to pay attention and think clearly, while
• increasing poor eating habits and 
• behavioural problems. 

Associations have also been shown between excessive screen time and language delay, poor sleep, impaired executive function, and a decrease in parent-child engagement.

So how do you organize the child’s brain?

Taking away screens and – reading to our children during the formative years of birth to age 5 boosts brain development. 

The brain of a pre-schooler, who is often read to by a caregiver, show a growth in organized white matter in the language and literacy areas of the child’s brain. It is these areas that will support learning in school. There is also the increase in organized white matter in the language centres of the preschooler’s brain.

According to the ongoing research at Haskins Laboratories for the Science of the Spoken and Written Word, reading, unlike watching or listening to media, gives the brain more time to stop, think, process, and imagine the narrative in front of us.

On the contrary the brain of a preschooler who likely spends an average of two hours a day playing on screens shows massive underdevelopment and disorganization of white matter in the same areas needed to support learning in school.

In addition to brain scans, the children were also given cognitive tests.

When it came to screen time, kids who used screens more than one hour a day had

• poorer emerging literacy skills,
• less ability to use expressive language, and
• tested lower on the ability to rapidly name objects.

In contrast, children who frequently read books with their caregiver scored higher on cognitive[3] tests.

Screen time, on the other hand, gets in the way of more than reading, “such as playing with toys, using imagination and going outside,” Hutton said, “thus interfering with all kinds of activities that would benefit different parts of the brain that aren’t just related to reading.”

What type of reading was most important?

“What really seemed to drive the bus, at least based on this analysis, is just showing up and doing it — reading to your child on a regular basis,” Hutton said. “And, to me that takes a lot of pressure off parents to find the perfect book. Just keep reading in a loving and consistent way.

How to read to your preschool child

There’s no one “best” way to read to your child, say experts. But research does provide some tips on what may work best to engage and entice your child to love books and reading.

1. Start from birth by talking to your child and responding to their attempts to “baby talk”
2. Sing the ABC song
3. Have your child use their imagination and make up stories — and ask lots of questions about those invented tales
4. Pick books with interesting characters — and don’t be afraid to role play with different accents and voices for the characters
5. Have your child point to pictures and words and repeat them
6. Most important — enjoy yourself!

This article is informed by an article posted by CNN This is your child’s brain on books: Scans show benefit of reading vs. screen time by Sandee LaMotte, CNN Updated 1114 GMT (1914 HKT) January 16, 2020

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/16/health/child-brain-reading-books-wellness/index.html