Recent advances in brain research have provided great insight into how the brain, the most immature of all organs at birth, continues to grow and develop after birth. Whereas this growth had been thought to be determined primarily by genetics, scientists now believe that it is also highly dependent upon the child’s experiences. Research shows that, like protein, fat, and vitamins, interactions with other 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 "plasticity" of the brain, its ability to develop and change in response to the demands of the environment, that will enable Michael to learn how to use computers as successfully as his ancestors learned how to hunt animals in the wild.
As he grows, Michael’s ability to understand language, solve problems, and get along with other people will be influenced by what he experiences as an infant and young child. This is not to say that individual genetic differences have no influence on how a child develops; they do. But there is mounting evidence that experiences affect the way genes are expressed (i.e., turned on and off) in the developing brain. While good early experiences help the brain to develop well, experiences of neglect and abuse can literally cause some genetically normal children to become mentally retarded or to develop serious emotional difficulties.
It is now clear that what a child experiences in the first years of life profoundly influences how his brain will develop and how he will interact with the world throughout his life. Parents play the most important role in providing the nurturing and stimulation that children require. [Sam's remarks: Working parents should enroll their babies in playgroups on weekdays, when they have little time to play with the baby, not on weekends when parents are able to play with the baby themselves.]
Children who are abused or severely neglected are at extremely high risk of developing emotional, behavioral, social, and intellectual disabilities. Research has shown that in the majority of infant care arrangements in the U.S., children are not talked to and played with enough.
[Sam's remark: Beaumont Gifted Babies Program ensures that babies can join an hour's activity during each weekday. We also train up domestic helpers how to play with a baby. The program is highly interactive, rich in language stimulation, and addresses the emotional, social and intellectual development of a baby through songs, group activities and games in a wide range of languages. Evidence shows that younger the baby, the better. The ability to pick up key languages in the world effortlessly from an international team of graduate teachers is an added bonus. The program is tailor-made for working parents and for parents who want to realize the full potential of their child.)
Zero to Three,
http://www.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/startingsmart.pdf?docID=2422
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