infant brain development

Supporting the first 3 months

This is the 3rd post in the brain development series. If you haven’t already, please read the first and second posts before continuing.

Most people assume that all children do in the first few months is eat and sleep. This is inaccurate. Children are born ready to learn and need stimulation of their senses to support brain development from birth. Because the child is not mobile and mostly supine (lying on his/her back) in the first three months, visual mobiles are a great way to provide visual stimulation. I have to mention that I LOVE mobiles! I love making them, I love watching them and most especially, I love watching children watch them.  If you don’t know what mobiles are, keep reading to see pictures.

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By Nduoma, ago

BrainDev 1: … The moment they enter the world

” The greatness of the human personality begins at the hour of birth” – M. Montessori

This is another favorite quote of mine. Montessori believed that education must begin from birth since the child begins the work of constructing his intellect and personality the moment he is born. I actually think the greatness of the human personality begins at conception but that’s another story. Today’s post is going to talk about brain formation and why I agree with the thought that education should begin at birth. This topic is a little scientific but I’ll try to make it as simple as I can.

The Short and  Simple Version

A large part of brain development (which is linked to intelligence) happens between birth and the second year of life. Brain development slows down significantly after the second year. Therefore, education is very important in the first two years of life. The education that I refer to here is not necessarily putting the child in school i.e. education as we know it. The next post in this series will discuss the practical side of education from birth.

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By Nduoma, ago