Experience the Early Brain

Article contributed by:

Raffles Medical Group

A new baby is born, and the entire family’s excited about his arrival.  You start to wonder what your child will grow up to be...
 

Studies have shown that a large part depends on how the baby’s brain develops, and this development in turn depends largely on nutritional, medical, emotional, and parental support during childhood.
 
Dr Wendy Sinnathamby, Specialist in Paediatric Medicine at Raffles Children’s Centre, says research has proven brain growth is highly dependent on a child’s experiences.
 
“Like protein and fat, interactions with people and objects are vital nutrients for the growing and developing brain, and different experiences can cause the brain to develop in different ways.  It is this ‘elasticity’ of the brain, its ability to develop and change in response to the demands from the environment, which will enable the baby to learn and grow,” she explains.
 
Early stimulation sets the stage for how children will learn and interact with others throughout life.  A child’s experiences, good or bad, influence the wiring of his brain and the connections in his nervous system.
 
Dr Sinnathamby adds, “Loving interactions with caring adults strongly stimulate a child’s brain, causing synapses to grow and existing connections to get stronger. Connections that are used become permanent. If a child receives little stimulation early on, the synapses will not develop, and the brain will make fewer connections.”
 

Toddler Skills Development – Learning with All Five Senses

During the first three years of life, children experience the world in a more complete way than children of any other age.  The brain takes in the external world through its system of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste.

 
This means that infant social, emotional, cognitive, physical and language development are stimulated during multisensory experiences.  Toddlers need the opportunity to participate in a world filled with stimulating sights, sounds and people.

Smell: Experiment with different smells.  Try scents like peppermint and cinnamon to keep children alert and lavender to calm them down.

Sight: Expose infants and toddlers to colours that stimulate the brain.  Use colours like pale yellow, beige, and off-white to create a calm learning environment; use bright colours such as red, orange, and yellow to encourage creativity and excitement.

Sound: Use quiet and soft music o calm infants and toddlers and hythmic music to get them excited about moving.

Touch: Put a variety of small objects into a bag and ask your child to put his hand in and feel one.  Is it warm or cold?  Is it smooth or rough?  Is it hard or soft?  You are teaching your child to put words to objects and discover the names of different textures.

Taste: Describe the foods and drinks that you serve infants and toddlers and use words that are associated with flavour and texture (e.g. “oranges are sweet and juicy” and “lemon yogurt is a little sour and creamy”).
 

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Crucial Developmental Skills

New parents sometimes get carried away with heavy emphasis on preparing toddlers for reading and other academic skills, so much so that they lose focus on areas which are just as, if not more, important for early learning.  These are foundation skills that will help the toddler achieve a well-rounded development. Dr Wendy recommends incorporating the following activities into parent and child everyday interactions:

1. Following Directions

Give toddlers experience with success by beginning with simple commands.  Asking them to bring you specific items, to drop toys into a toy box, or to pull off their socks are good starters.  Following directions reinforces responsibility and self-help skills.

 
Some kids may need you to physically “walk them” through the request the first time.  As they get more adept at processing and responding to verbal requests, try two-step directions.  Give lots of praise.
 
2. Taking Turns and Sharing

This is one of the toughest social skills for little ones to master.  Give your child lots of exposure to both structured and unstructured play opportunities with other kids.
 
Use the words “share” and “take turns” often in conversation with kids so they realise the importance of these concepts.  Physically practicing skills helps cement them for kids, so structure and facilitate many turn-taking experiences for them.  Use educational games or toys to practice this skill. Praise them for their patience.
 
3. Attention Span

This is one of the most important skills for later school success. Encourage toddlers to gradually increase time spent on an activity before moving to another, such as focusing on one toy before getting another out.
 
Focus is also sharpened when kids are able to occupy themselves.  So, don’t feel the need to entertain them every minute.  Start with small increments of time and work from there.  Give positive reinforcement when kids are playing well by themselves.
 
4. Problem Solving

It’s amazing when you consider the things which your young child is motivated to figure out.  Capitalise on this by giving kids time and support to solve problems with increasing levels of independence.  Ask them to locate a toy that has fallen behind a sofa or to upright a small chair that has been knocked over.  Encourage them to try again or try something else if their initial attempt doesn’t work.  Help them work through frustration by demonstrating confidence in their abilities and by praising their effort as well as the outcome.
 
5. Persistence and Frustration Tolerance

Toddlers get frustrated easily.  They often want to do things which they have not quite developed the skills for yet (especially fine motor skills).  Rather than stepping in and doing it for them right away, provide scaffolding.
 
Arrange their tasks so that it is achievable for them, such as moving the toy closer so they can reach it or partially unscrewing the lid so they can pull it off the rest of the way.  Build their confidence by helping them learn to overcome difficulties rather than giving up.  Verbally encourage them to try again when things don’t work out and let them see you doing the same.

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Article contributed by:
Raffles Medical Group

Dated: November 2011

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