We are all born and raised in different homes. We are surrounded by a family and an environment into which we are born. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that this environment shapes our brain, like a motif forming a pattern. When we are born, we have a certain potential, and the most rapid period of information processing occurs between the ages of 0 and 6. We call the brain’s capacity to learn and be shaped neuroplasticity. The brain is not a fixed structure. As we learn, experience things, encounter problems, or solve them, it forms new neural connections.
When you learn something new, synaptic connections are created; when you repeat it, these connections strengthen; and when they are not used, they weaken and are pruned away. Neuroscientist David Eagleman even says about this, “What makes us who we are is not what develops in our brain, but rather what is eliminated.” The environment we are in throughout our childhood is, in fact, the very environment that makes us who we are. It determines our behaviors, our schemas, our beliefs, and our brain. Connections that are established and repeated strengthen and stay with us until death, while those that are not formed or repeated are pruned away.
Therefore, although intelligence has a genetic component, it is influenced by the environment we are in. In a study conducted at Harvard University with children who remained in an orphanage from the moment they were born, it was found that these children’s IQs were considerably below the average score of 100. When their neural activity was examined through an EEG study, very low activity was observed (Nelson, 2007). In 2014, the developmental differences between children raised in institutions and those raised by foster families were evaluated. In this 12-year study, brain activity in children placed with foster families before 24 months of age was found to be as healthy as that of children who had never been in institutional care. The most striking finding of the study was this: for children who were placed with foster families after 24 months, their brain activity was just as low as those who stayed in the institution the whole time (Nelson, 2014). These studies show us just how crucial the first two years of life are.
Meeting Physical and Emotional Needs
The most important thing during early childhood is that a child’s needs are met fully and at the right time. When we think about a baby’s needs, we often think of the practical things: feeding them when they’re hungry, changing their diaper, or making sure they’re dressed comfortably—not too cold and not too hot. These basics are absolutely essential. But there’s another layer of needs that is just as important. If we overlook these, we aren’t truly meeting the child’s needs in a complete and timely way. We’re talking about their emotional needs.
The most important thing for a baby is security. The first emotional need for a baby is for the people caring for them to provide a sense of trust. Even when we set boundaries for our children, we try to set them from a place of security. We call boundaries that are set through warm communication, where mother, father, and child have a say, “secure boundaries” (Ergün, 2022). So, a baby’s need for security is met through their relationship with their parents. However, for the first six months after birth, a baby cannot understand that they and their mother are separate people. They see their mother as an extension of themselves. This means that for a baby’s emotional needs to be met, the mother also needs to be well and supported herself. Tension between partners at home, arguments, noise, or untreated addiction or mental health issues can prune those growing synaptic connections we talked about earlier. For a child to develop well, problems in the home need to be addressed first. Then, both their physical and emotional needs can be met fully and at the right time. Otherwise, in a home that is already struggling, we cannot expect parents who are having difficulty meeting their own emotional needs to be able to fully support a baby.
To Support Early Brain Development
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Play with your child. It doesn’t matter how many months old they are—play is how they learn.
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Show them objects that capture their interest. Let them look at different shapes, colors, and textures.
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Go outside together. Let them see the world around them.
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Let them explore. Let them touch the soil, look at trees, and discover bugs and worms.
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Set limits with technology. Be mindful of screen time.
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Read to your child.
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Play different kinds of music. Sing songs to them and let them hear your voice.
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Let your face show your feelings. When your baby sees your expressions and begins to imitate them over time, respond to them. This back-and-forth interaction helps build important neural connections.
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Avoid introducing screens at a very young age just to keep them busy, stop them from crying, or make them eat. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children between 0 and 2 years old should have no screen exposure at all.
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Pay attention to their nutrition and sleep. Try to keep a consistent routine around meals and bedtime. (Bencik Kangal, 2021)
Referance
Nelson, C.A., (2007). A neurobiological perspective on early human deprivation. Child devolopment perspectives, 1(1), 13-18. Nelson, C.A., (2014). Romania’s abondoned children. Harvard University Press. Ergün, E., (2022). Çocuklar Sınır Sever. Kripto Yayıncılık. Syf.16. Bencik Kangal, S. (2021). Çocuğumun Beyninde Neler Oluyor., Elma Yayıncılık. Syf.69.