Every parent
worthy of the title wishes for their child to do better, to be better, and
achieve the things they themselves couldn't. There are several things to take
into account while striving for their better future (apart from projecting
parents' dreams onto the next generation), that can be beneficial to the early
brain development and nurturing better, more cognizant human beings.
A pyramid scheme
As soon as we are
born, our brain, still a mess of loosely connected neurons who don't know where
to focus their attention, has the enormous responsibility of sorting, deciphering and connecting stimuli from the outside
world into a cohesive meaning. Although the fundamental senses have been linked
to appropriate neurons, higher functions still lag behind the newly discovered flood of senses. Touch in lips and cheeks
develops first, 8 weeks into pregnancy, with other parts of the body acquiring
it by the week 14. Taste develops by week 12 and sound by week 24. It is
important for the newborn to have fully developed taste and touch in the mouth
area because it must be able to recognize and ingest food in the form of breast
milk.
Higher level
processes are built on foundations of lower level ones; hearing is a great
example. It is an intermediate step that lasts (hopefully) a lifetime, but it
is at the same time crucial for development of several others. Language and
coordination are both built on top of hearing, which in term, is built on top
of ear development. If damage occurs at any point in this hierarchical process,
later development will be affected, depending on the timing and severity of the
damage.
Damaged processes in the early onset of their development will usually have a
more widespread, but potentially milder deformities, whereas the later ones
will have focused, but more prominent ones. Underdevelopment of the ears in
early embryonal development will be compensated to a degree and have an impact
on both hearing, language perception and coordination, whereas hearing loss in
later development will only have an impact on - well - hearing, but drastically
more profound one.
Early bird gets
the worm
Even higher level
functions, such as cognition, emotional, social and intelligence quotients are
built on top of early senses. It is therefore important to stimulate them
accordingly. Starting in the first several months after birth, touch, and
hearing develop exponentially. It is beneficial to explore them together with
the child, through introduction of different textures, materials and
composition for touch, and different natural noises, including music, for
hearing. Sight develops naturally as our primary sense, but we can help there
as well. Changes in natural scenery stimulate its development greatly.

Picture 1:
Optimal times to learn different skills and habits.
The cherry on top
As the crown
achievement of all sensual experiences and mental fortitude, humans developed
cognition. The development of reason to an unparalleled degree throughout whole
evolution is still a mystery, but can be seen as the synesthesia of all sensory
inputs, be they obvious or hidden, plus the experience of learning and
acquiring causation.
Childrens' brains
have innate plasticity to mold and store vast amounts of information, to a
degree no adult brain can. They can also learn and, more importantly, re-learn
much easier than adults. If left unguided, plasticity deteriorates with time,
but several studies have shown that this process can be prolonged and enhanced
well into adulthood if only directed properly. On the other hand, if it suffers
from negative influence, it gives rise to adults who have difficulty
functioning in the society.
An increasing
number of studies explored the early human development in children subjected to
negative influences, such as pain, abuse (both verbal and physical), neglect
and others. Those children much often grow up to become ill-suited for the
surrounding society, developing schizophrenia, anxiety and depression, or tend
towards psychopathic or sociopathic behaviours.
We are the product of our past experiences
The brain will do
most of the work by itself, but, to truly enhance a child's development, make
them curious. Curiosity leads to synesthesia of several, if not all sensory
inputs, breeds creativity and learns causation better than anything else! It is
by our own actions that we learn the most.
Anybody who tried
to answer all of their questions know that children are innately curious and
have a bottomless hunger for new knowledge, only if presented in the right way.
The best thing to do is to open the doors of any and all professions at a young
age and let them explore the worlds they wish to, be it by book, presentation
or by example, and maybe even re-spark the curiosity that has been dulled over
the years.

Picture 2:
Schematic view of experiences connecting with previous knowledge in different
stages of life.
Knowing this information isn't enough by itself, though.
More than 250 million children in this crucial development time risk not
reaching their development potential because of extreme poverty and biological
or sociological stunting. Despite the need, early childhood programs remain
severely underfunded and measure less than 0.1 per cent of gross national
product of 27 sub-Saharan countries.
UNICEF, together with other companies and governments are
implementing the Early Childhood Development program, together with several
support programs.
Meanwhile, the Annual Review of Public Health states how,
even in more prosperous countries, children are a subject of wrong data
implementation: they are often overburdened with the intellectual functions
that they lack early social environment beneficial for development of both the
intellectual and the social, stunting the child's response to stress and
capacity to self-control. It is with better academic programs and social
enrichment that they propose to battle against an ever-rising number of
socially and mentally inadequate environments.
Humans have
unparalleled ability to adapt to any conditions, external or internal, not by
nature, but by trial and error, failing and getting up, and redoing everything
over and over if necessary. Of all the qualities necessary for survival in
modern day and age, one quality leads to development and betterment of every
other. From a range of almost supernatural and amazing feats people are able to
undertake for developing themselves and
the society around them, there is one quality that superseeds them all:
perseverance.
References:
1.
Baker,
Laurie M.; Williams, Leanne M.; Korgaonkar, Mayuresh S.; Cohen, Ronald A.;
Heaps, Jodi M.; Paul, Robert H. (2012). "Impact of early vs. Late
childhood early life stress on brain morphometrics". Brain Imaging and
Behavior. 7 (2): 196–203. doi:10.1007/s11682-012-9215-y. PMID 23247614.
2.
Chugani,
Harry T.; Behen, Michael E.; Muzik, Otto; Juhász, Csaba; Nagy, Ferenc; Chugani,
Diane C. (2001). "Local Brain Functional Activity Following Early
Deprivation: A Study of Postinstitutionalized Romanian Orphans".
NeuroImage. 14 (6): 1290–301. doi:10.1006/nimg.2001.0917. PMID 11707085.
3.
Eluvathingal,
T. J.; Chugani, H. T.; Behen, M. E.; Juhász, C; Muzik, O; Maqbool, M; Chugani,
D. C.; Makki, M (2006). "Abnormal Brain Connectivity in Children After
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Study". Pediatrics. 117 (6): 2093–100. doi:10.1542/peds.2005-1727. PMID
16740852.
4.
Saladin,
K (2011). Anatomy & physiology : the unity of form and function (6th ed.).
McGraw-Hill. p. 541. ISBN 9780073378251.
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Nim; Hare, Todd A.; Quinn, Brian T.; McCarry, Thomas W.; Nurse, Marcella;
Gilhooly, Tara; Millner, Alexander; Galvan, Adriana; Davidson, Matthew C.;
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Gunnar, Megan R.; Altemus, Margaret; Aronson, Jane; Casey, B.J. (2010).
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20121862.
6.
"Human
brain development is a symphony in three movements". Yale News.
2013-12-26. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
7.
https://www.adam-mila.com/
8. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.21.1.455
9. https://earlychildhood.qld.gov.au/early-years/developmental-milestones/early-years-brain-development
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https://www.unicef.org/early-childhood-development
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https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/early-brain-development.html
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