Tag: brain development

Taking advantage of a child’s readiness to learn

critical periods for a child’s development occurs around age 2. What children’s experiences in this phase have lasting effects on their development

Reading time: 7min30sec.

 There is electricity in the brain

neurons in the brain connect

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

This EXTRACT is taken from: “Benefits of reading to your child”

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Children’s brains develop in spurts called critical periods. The first occurs around age 2, with a second one occurring during adolescence.

At the start of this period (two-year-olds), the number of connections (synapses) between brain cells (neurons) doubles. The connections between brain cells are where learning occurs, twice as many synapses enable the brain to learn faster than at any other time of life. What children’s experiences in this phase have lasting effects on their development.

It also provides a prime opportunity to lay the foundation for a holistic education for children.

Here are four ways to maximize learning during this period:

  • encouraging a love of learning,
  • focusing on breadth instead of depth,
  • paying attention to emotional intelligence, and
  • do not treat a young child’s education as merely a precursor to “real” learning (play school). 

ENCOURAGE A LOVE OF LEARNING

Instead of focusing on performance, Young children need to enjoy the process of learning. Educators and parents can emphasize the joys of trying new activities and learning something novel.

This period is also the time to establish a growth mindset. Talents and abilities are developed through effort instead of being naturally fixed.

Educators should avoid labeling children or making universal statements about their ability like “You’re so smart” these are counterproductive. Instead, emphasize perseverance. Children will learn to love learning if we show enthusiasm over the process. Do not fixate on results.[i] 

FOCUS ON BREADTH, NOT DEPTH

Expose children to a wide variety of activities. It is a time to develop skills in a range of fields. Engage children in music, reading, sports, math, art, science, and languages.

Avoid focusing on results during this phase of development as to emphasize the breadth of skill development over depth.

People who thrive in our rapidly changing world are those who first learn how and then draw from multiple fields. They think creatively and abstractly – this forms well-rounded individuals.

Well-roundedness is especially important for children from ages 2 to 7. Their developing brains are ready to soak in a wide range of skill sets. DON’T OVERLOOK EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Yes, we want children to read well and learn the fundamentals of math. But we should not disregard emotional intelligence. The advantages of learning during this first critical period of brain development should extend to interpersonal skills such as kindness, empathy, and teamwork.

Empathy begins with acknowledging one’s feelings. Therefore help children label their emotions (“I feel sad”) and then tell the story about what made them feel that way (“I feel sad because I wanted ice cream and you said no”). Once children practice labeling emotions, educators can start asking questions that encourage them to consider others’ feelings.

One way to encourage care for others is to include children in what adults do for others. Even allowing young children to help with chores can make them more helpful and considerate people.

DON’T TREAT YOUNG CHILDREN’S EDUCATION AS MERELY A PRECURSOR TO “REAL” LEARNING

Children’s brains can uniquely absorb information during this critical phase.

Research shows that children in this age range are best suited to learn the patterns of language development, enabling them to master a second language to the same level as a native language. However, once children reach age 8, their language learning proficiency decreases, and second languages are not spoken as well as native ones. The same age effect is found when learning musical ability such as perfect pitch.

It is tempting to think of early childhood education as a precursor to “real” education. But these may be the years that matter most. 

[i] https://www.edutopia.org/article/why-ages-2-7-matter-so-much-brain-development

Wired to Read

From preconception through the formative early years it is essential to safeguard and maximize children’s developmental outcomes

This introduction to reading will investigate:

  • innate nature and personality
  • brain development
  • brain structure
  • Early Childhood Development (ECD)

فطرة – Fitra” or “fitrah” (Arabic), is the state of purity and innocence and a natural disposition

Many of these traits can be observed in young children.

Children are often referred to as innocent – meaning they are naive, harmless, guiltless or blameless etc. So how and when do any changes in their natural disposition occur? These changes occur after exposure.

Now we may ask:
Are all children not the same?

A child is a composite human being, inheriting characteristics from the mother, father and some features that are unique to itself. Then these characteristics are manipulated through exposure. This exposure occurs prenatal and after birth.

Ihsan[i] meaning “to do beautiful things” It is a matter of taking one’s inner faith and showing it in both deed and action, a sense of social responsibility borne from religious convictions.

Development of the brain

Month One Month Two Month Three
Neural tube brain cell & cerebral cortex brain functions

Let Us Look at the Brain Development by Month

month
1 Just 16 days after fertilization, an embryo forms the neural tube. The neural tube is the earliest nervous system tissue which develops into the brain and the spinal cord.
2 During the second month this neural tube begins to differentiate into brain cells and nerve cells. The brain cells transform into recognizable brain structures. The most notable is the outer layer called the cerebral cortex.
3 By the third month the embryo display reflexes and also reacts to its environment.
4 At the end of the first trimester, hormones are released that will determine whether development will continue to occur as male or female.
5 By the fifth month, the foetus is learning to control its reactions to these sensory sensations and to control its movement.
6 By six months the brain becomes fully developed. Even though the brain has not reached its full size, most of the neurons (nerve cell) within the central nervous system are present. These nerve cells conduct electrical impulses (i.e. send messages).Significantly it is during this period that the foetus begins to prepare itself for the outside world. The foetus can experience sensory sensations such as sound, taste, and smells. The ability to consciously react to sensory sensations becomes even stronger during the sixth month. During the sixth month, another major mark of brain development occurs; the cerebral cortex splits into two separate hemispheres. Some researchers believe that, at this stage, the foetus develops the ability to remember.
Text Box: Imagine that one day you decide to count nonstop until you get to one billion. Let's assume that you could count one number every second on average, so it would take you a billion seconds. This means that it would take approximately 32 years to count to one billion. Now when the baby is born she has 100 billion brain cells. Phenomenal!


At birth 80 percent of the brain is developed and consist of 100 billion neurons or brain cells.

This means that during every minute of the pregnancy period at least 250,000 brain cells are created!

Because of this rapid pace of development, proper prenatal care is essential to the development of an unborn child’s brain.

During this process i.e. during the prenatal and postnatal, the child is being prepared for the world around it and evidently the child will be what the parent exposes it to.

Early Childhood Development

ECD is the net result of ongoing interactions between biology of children and environments

The early years are critical, because this is the period in life when the brain develops most rapidly and has a high capacity for change, and the foundation is laid for health and wellbeing throughout life.

Nurturing-care means,

  • care is provided in a stable environment,
  • being sensitive to children’s health and nutritional needs,
  • providing protection from threats,
  • providing opportunities for early learning, and interactions that are responsive, emotionally supportive and developmentally stimulating.

We emphasize

  • stable, responsive, and nurturing caregiving;
  • safe, supportive, environments;
  • appropriate nutrition
  • and protection from violence, neglect and abuse.

This is what is at the heart of children’s potential to develop

Why is there so much emphasis on ECD?

From preconception through the formative early years it is essential to safeguard and maximize children’s developmental outcomes

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references

[1] recognize and work with the sounds of spoken language

[2] television, tablets and smartphones, etc.

[3]  Cognitive – relating to, being, or involving conscious intellectual activity (such as thinking, reasoning, or remembering

[i] In Islam, ihsan is the Muslim responsibility to obtain perfection, or excellence, in worship, such that Muslims try to worship God as if they see him, and although they cannot see him, they undoubtedly believe that He is constantly watching over them. That definition comes from the Hadith of Gabriel in which Muhammad states, “[Ihsan is] to worship God as though you see Him, and if you cannot see Him, then indeed He sees you”. (Al-Bukhari and Al-Muslim)

[ii] https://dyslexiaida.org/how-can-we-ensure-that-every-child-will-learn-to-read-the-need-for-a-global-neurodevelopmental-perspective/

[iii] In 2012 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, neuroscientists at Stanford University reported that

study.com/academy/lesson/prenatal-stages-of-brain-development.html