How Your Child’s Brain Changes in the First Five Years

Original article written by Michaela Rae for Waterford.org

Having two very different children taught me one very important lesson: no two children are the same. Every child is different and their brain develops at it’s own pace, however, the first five years of a child’s life are a critical window of opportunity for rapid brain growth. Did you know that our children’s brains are busy making one million neural connections every single second? I didn’t.

Growing pains

The first five years are full of growing pains for parents and children alike. I had my eldest daughter when I was 26-years-old. Admittedly, it took me awhile to realize that I have 26 more years of experience than my daughter does. When I stepped back and realized that my daughter is forming neurons she will use for the rest of her life, it made me understand her tantrums during those first five years more clearly. You see, the changes in my daughter’s behavior were due to the massive amounts of brain growth she was experiencing in a super short amount of time.

How to nurture your child’s brain growth

There are so many ways that you as a parent can help nurture your child’s brain during the first five years. Children are constantly learning from their parents, so it’s important to model the behaviors and qualities you’d like to see your child develop. For me, that means carving out time for quiet reading and outside playtime. It’s so important for my children to see that I value both academic and play-based learning because they are important building blocks for brain growth. I know that every moment spent with my children helping them learn can make a huge impact on their brain development.

Brain-building exercises

Here are some fun, free brain-building exercises I use with my kids:

Let your child play dress up
Try acting out everyday chores
Build an imaginary spaceship out of a cardboard box
Let your child explore textures with a sensory bin
Try painting with water on a hot summer day
Let your child create objects out of salt dough
Apply to the Waterford Upstart online PreK learning program.
Download the Vroom app for brain-building tips.
Follow along with these Storytime with Mrs. Booksy videos.

Remember, it’s the tiny moments that matter most.

xoxo,

Michaela Rae