How Your Child’s Brain Learns and Develops
Neuroplasticity ?
What your child learns as a baby creates the foundation for their future. How the brain learns and develops, and something called neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections and pathways throughout life.
Neuroplasticity explained!
Neuro: Relating to the brain and neurons, the nerve cells that power the brain.
Plasticity: Having the ability to be shaped or molded.
Therefore, neuroplasticity is the shaping and molding of our brain.
Learning and Memory powers the shaping and molding of the brain.
Medical experts now know that when we learn new information and take on new experiences, they can actually shape, mold and change the makeup of our brains.
New information and experiences help to organize (and reorganize) our neural pathways in the brain.
Neural pathways are the connections in our brain—think of them as the brain’s “wiring.”
Our brains “rewire” themselves as they take on more information and learn from experiences—in other words, learning can physically change our brains!
Why is it so important to understand neuroplasticity when thinking about baby’s brain function?
Because as a child, every experience and bit of information is new! In fact, baby’s brain develops about 1 million new neural connections every second. So the majority of shaping and molding of the brain will happen in the early years of life.
Wriggles and Giggles deliver face to face group sessions in Yarm, Hartburn, Ingleby Barwick that you can join by booking a sessions that best suits you, if you are a parent or carer to an early years child from birth. All areas of learning are covered for your child's development and your own understanding of how that happens and how to get the best outcome for them with your parenting techniques.
Additionally, while baby may be too young to form conscious memories, they can form unconscious memories (also known as implicit memories). These can form as early as just a few months after birth, and will be a guiding force in shaping baby’s neural pathways.
Neuroplasticity does continue to happen as we age, but not as frequently. That’s because as we get older, our brains want to rely on existing neural pathways, rather than create new ones. So, the pathways we create as a child can, in many ways, be the foundation of our learning and thinking throughout our lives.
It’s important to keep your baby active and learning, so they can continue to develop and shape their brains.
