Every time we respond, talk, read, and play with our children their brains are growing the architecture upon which all future learning is built! This back-and-forth communication is called “serve and return.” Our babies are trying to connect with us by babbling, crying, and using facial expressions. We are returning the attention. Talk back to Baby when he babbles- building the brain! Tell Baby what you are doing as you change a diaper – building the brain! Talk back and forth about the big, red, noisy truck that your toddler noticed passing by- building the brain! Counting the steps to the car with your toddler –you are building his brain!
The brain develops most rapidly during the first five years of life. In the first few years of life, 1,000,000 new connections are formed in the brain every second. Listening to adults and adults responding to babies grow neural connections before a baby is one year old. [InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development, Harvard]
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We have the power to shape our children’s futures!
For more information see: InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development, Harvard.
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/briefs/inbrief_series/inbrief_the_science_of_ecd/