Parenting Guides

You know that your behavior affects your child. You laugh and he laughs, praises him and he expressed satisfaction, scold him for misbehaving and he is sad. You are the center of the universe of your child. And vice versa, of course.

Research has shown that during the first three years of life, the child’s brain grows and develops during this stage significantly and establishing the basic patterns of thought and response. What does all this for you as mom or dad? It means you have a very special opportunity to help your child develop properly and grow socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively. The early years are for life.For a long time people mistakenly believed that the brain of a baby was an exact replica of the brains of their parents. For example, if the mother was an artist, the baby was more likely to inherit the same talent. Although genetics plays a role in determining the skills and abilities of a child, recent research highlights that the environment plays an equally important role. In recent years, neuroscience has shown that the experiences that fill the first few days, months and years of a baby have a great impact on brain development. Both nature and nurture work hand in hand in the development of our children.

All children need certain elements in the initial stages of life to grow and develop the full potential:

* A child needs to feel special, loved and valued.
* You need to feel safe.
* Need to grow in a predictable environment.
* You need a balance between freedom and discipline and limits to be respected.
* It needs to be exposed to different environments, where there is language, play, exploration, books, music and appropriate toys.

Although it may give the impression that what happens in the brain of a baby is relatively simple compared to what happens in the brain of an adult, in fact, a baby’s brain is twice as active as an adult. Neuroscience specialists are focusing especially on the first three years of life considered a crucial stage. During these years the human brain has the greatest potential for learning. Not only learn faster, but during this time to define the basic ways of thinking, respond to and solve problems. For example, look at how easy it is for a child to learn words from another language and what it costs us adults.

This means that you and the environment you create for your child will influence their way of dealing with emotions, how you relate to others, the way they think and how they develop physically. Creating an environment for your child will allow your brain to develop normally. You may wonder what an environment “suitable.” It consists in a “child-centered” and provides opportunities for learning tailored to the interests, developmental level and personality of your child. Fortunately, the components of an enabling environment include basic things that many parents are willing to offer: good food, a warm family environment, responsive and affectionate; time to play and have fun, consistent and positive reinforcement a readiness to talk, good books read, music to stimulate brain activity and the freedom to explore and learn from everything around him.

credit to: María José
Source: www.sosmadre.com/el-desarrollo-temprano-del-cerebro/
image source: www.humansfuture.org/images/brain_developement.gif

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