Building a Brain from
the Bottom Up
Imagine that the brain is a
house. When building the house we start with a foundation. We will call this
genetics. Then we begin to build stories, one on top of the other. Each story
of our structure contains rooms. The first story (let’s call this our first
year of life), has a room for vision and a room for hearing. The second story
(second year of life) has a room for speech and a room for walking. The third
story has rooms for arithmetic and reading. As our house gets taller and
taller, we add rooms and learn additional skills. It is important that we build
each story of our house on top of the other. Imagine trying to build a house
starting with the third story. It wouldn’t work, would it?
The process of building a brain
from the bottom up is what we call ‘Brain Architecture’. And the importance of
this building cannot be overstated. Early experiences in a child’s life
influence the developing brain. From the prenatal period through the first
years of life, the brain undergoes its most rapid development. Early experiences
determine whether the brain’s architecture is sturdy or fragile. During the
early years healthy emotional and cognitive development is largely shaped by responsive,
dependable, interaction with adults. Notice I did not say ABC’s and 123’s. Relationship-building
is the single most important tool for a young brain.
Children develop in an
environment of relationships that begin in the home and include extended family
members, early care and education providers, and members of the community. Studies
have shown that toddlers who have secure, trusting relationships with parents
or non-parent caregivers experience minimal stress hormone activation when
frightened by a strange event, and those that have insecure relationships experienced
a significant activation of the stress response system.[1]
Providing supportive and positive
conditions for early childhood development is much more effective and far less
costly than attempting to address the consequences of early adversity later in
life. As early childhood educators, your child’s teachers are integral in
building little brains. By partnering with your child’s school and his/her
teachers and school administration, you can be part of a community of brain-builders.
It really does a village – or in this case, a team of construction workers.
[1] In
Brief: “The Impact of Early Adversity on Children’s Development”, Center on the
Developing Child, Harvard University.
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