The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a baby's development. A newborn's brain is about 25 percent of its approximate adult weight. But by age 3, it has grown dramatically by producing billions of cells and hundreds of trillions of connections, or synapses, between these cells. While we know that the development of a young child's brain takes years to complete, we also know there are many things parents and caregivers can do to help children get off to a good start and establish healthy patterns for life-long learning.
The importance of starting young
By 8 months, a baby’s brain has about 1,000 trillion nerve connections. By the age of 10, that number is reduced to about 500 trillion. As the brain operates on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis, early experiences are the defining factor affecting the rate of reduction in nerve connections. Studies on neglected children, who had been deprived of physical and mental stimulation, found that parts of their brain were underdeveloped and 20-30% smaller than most children their age.
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