The most rapid brain development happens in the first five years of life. There are a lot of important factors - good food, good sleep - but one is often overlooked: good interactions between the kid and their caretaker.
This can be accomplished through exchanges in the home, or in child care. But the process is sensitive to factors like poverty and, when brain development doesn’t go well, the consequences can be long lasting. While public attention is often focused on the differences in test scores between children from higher income families and children from lower income families, Tarullo said it's worth looking at what happens even before school starts.
As Coren and Tsifira pretend to nibble plastic bananas together, Zsuzsa Kaldy, a cognitive psychologist who co-directs the Baby Lab at UMass Boston, can guess at what might be happening inside their heads: Tsifira’s brainwaves are syncing up with Coren’s brainwaves. The human brain generally has a mix of faster wave activity and slower wave activity, Tarullo explained. The slower wave activity can be seen when someone is sleeping. It's also common in the brains of very young babies. Scientists see more fast wave activity when the brain is active — for example, during a fascinating conversation, while solving a tough math problem, or perhaps even when experimenting with dropping plastic strawberries into small containers.
Deneen Coren watches as a child in her class at Horizons for Homeless Children rolls a ball down a slide. “Children carry forward, in their brains, the imprint of what happened to them during these early years and what resources were or weren’t present,” Tarullo said. “So interventions are most effective the younger you start them."To foster the most effective interventions, the leaders of Horizons for Homeless Children — including Kate Barrand at the helm — realized they needed to do things differently than many other early child care centers.
The center now has a range of programs, including an on-site health clinic and biweekly coaching for the parents. But Barrand said one element is at the core of the mission: high-quality interactions between each kid and their caregiver, in the context of a long-term relationship.To increase the amount of one-on-one time each child has with an adult, Horizons put more teachers in each classroom than is required by state regulations. In the infant room, three adults care for five babies.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Turns Out, Rocket Scientists and Brain Surgeons Are Not Smarter Than the RestIf you've been thinking you weren't smart enough for rocket science or brain surgery, this is bound to make you smile.
Read more »
Christmas brain teaser: Can you find Rudolph among the reindeer?A graphic artist who designs seek-and-find puzzles is offering a new puzzle in the spirit of Christmas.
Read more »
8-year-old dies on Christmas Eve after battling rare form of brain cancer, family sharesA South Carolina boy battling a rare form of brain cancer has died.
Read more »
Batavia teen battling brain tumor works toward EMT certification through fire departmentBrice Worley, a Batavia High School junior with a brain tumor refuses to give up on his dreams: becoming an emergency medical technician. The Batavia Fire Department is working on a program specifically designed for Brice that will allow him to complete EMT training courses and become certified in a shorter amount of time.
Read more »
Successful Aging: The importance of play for stress relief and brain functionPlay for older adults is reported to improve brain functioning as a result of playing chess or solving puzzles.
Read more »
8-year-old dies on Christmas Eve after battling rare form of brain cancer, family sharesA South Carolina boy battling a rare form of brain cancer has died.
Read more »