Child Brain Development In The First 1000 Days (0-3 Years)

According to many scientific pieces of research, around 80% of a child’s brain develops during the first 1,000 days of his life. Therefore, these 1,000 or three years are the most important. As a parent, there are many things that you should understand and ensure the healthy development of your child’s brain.

During the initial years of life, mental development is the most important part of anyone’s life. Therefore, the first three years of a child’s life should be handled carefully as cognitive development occurs the most. Keep reading to know more about a child’s brain development in the first 1000 days.

Importance Of Experiences for Brain Development

Parents are the most important people who help develop a child’s brain. Their interaction with the child is the main factor that boosts mental growth.

Playing, talking, and speaking to children is the first experience they receive. A child may not respond to your actions in the first year. But their observation is what helps their mental growth.

This is why parents are known as the first teacher of a child. It is best to speak to your child to boost mental growth.

What Ensures A Healthy Brain Development?

Many factors play an important role in the healthy development of a child’s brain development. Every factor has its importance. Other than genes, there are key factors that help a child’s brain development in the first 1000 days.

Here are the top three key factors that play a critical role in brain development:

• Healthy nutritional dieting during the pregnancy as well
• Exposure to toxins
• Early childhood experiences

Taking extra care and nurturing a child is the first stage of healthy brain development. In addition, both types of experiences, be it negative or positive, experiences help healthy brain development.

Pre-Birth Measures for The Parents To Take For A Healthy Brain Development

The process of brain development of the child starts months before his birth. Therefore, the parents are advised to take extra care during pregnancy. In addition, a child needs to be protected from any diseases.

There are many measures that parents have to take. Although no doubt every parent takes these measures, not many know that they are connected directly to the child’s brain development. Mentioned below are some pre-birth measures that the parents have to take for the healthy brain development of their child.

• A healthy and nutritional diet is one of the most important factors that keep the mother and the baby healthy during pregnancy. No doubt, the right nutritional diet ensures the child’s healthy development during pregnancy.
• Make sure to have a sufficient folic acid intake as it helps develop the nervous system in the child.
• The mother should protect herself from any disease or toxins at all costs.
• Many types of risks can harm a child’s development in the womb, including the ones from alcohol and smoking.
• Depression and stress are two main factors that worsen the mother’s mental health. In addition, chronic depression and stress can lead to the child’s premature birth.

These are the top pre-birth measures that every parent should keep in mind. A child’s brain development starts way before their birth, and that is why every stage of a child’s life requires extra care.

Ways To Encourage and Boost Brain Development

After the child’s birth, many ways can help you boost your child’s brain development. But, be it anyway, the first thing you have to do is spend a lot of time with your child. Seeing you all the time will make them memorize your face, and this is how it all starts.

The connection between the parents and a child doesn’t require your appearance, but that is how brain development works.

During the first year of your child’s life, they will observe everything. Try to take them to them and play with them. Of course, the most that they will do is smile or giggle. But that is a good sign that your child understands what you are trying to do and impacts his brain.

However, as your child grows and starts walking, things will change. Here are some ways to boost and encourage brain development.

1. Motor Skills

Before starting with anything, muscle is the most important part of your body and is directly synced with your brain. Next, teach your child motor skills to take brain development to the next level. Be it gross fine or gross motor skills, both of them help the best in the first 1000 days.

The motor skills ensure that the child’s muscles and brain are synced and coordinated. Motor skills help a child use their muscles for many things. For example, grabbing toys, using spoons, control objects.

2. Play with Your Child

Playing with your child is the first thing you will do, even if you are not doing it for brain development. You can play countless games with your child that rapidly boosts brain development.

Handing toys, playing Peek-a-boo, and playing songs are the best things you can do. In addition, it would be best if you use actions while playing songs so they can copy the actions. Read also: Panda Crate KiwiCo Review: Brain-Building Play For 0 – 24m

3. Love

There is nothing that you cannot do with love. But, yes, babies can also feel stress, and this is when the comfort you provide them helps them the most. The reason why a child sleeps better and quicker is because of the warmth and comfort they feel.

Many studies have suggested that responsive and loving care can help a child handle stress. Therefore, never show anger to your child no matter what they do, and it negatively impacts their brain development.

4. Read

Reading is one of the best ways to improve your child’s brain development. But unfortunately, your child cannot recognize the language or be able to read it at the start. However, even looking at different words is the first step to their communication skills.

It is recommended to repeat books as it helps them to recognize the words spoken and the images in the book. Read also: Reading Head Start Program Review: A Comprehensive Reading Program

How does Neglect Affect Your Childs’s Brain Development?

Ensuring the healthy brain development of your child helps them grow and creates a strong foundation for their future. It shows that brain development is linked with every part of their body and affects their life once they grow up.

On the other hand, neglect from the parents’ side can negatively affect brain development. Not only the brain development but neglect can impact a child’s life in the long term.

The absence of loving and responsive support from your parents can dent a child’s brain. It badly disrupts the cognitive functions of the brain.

Stress at an early age is too much to handle for a child, and that is not something they deserve. The more the disruptions, the baldy their brain development gets affected.

If brain development is neglected, the first problem that arises is learning issues. The child can have confidence issues and mental health problems and face many other challenges in the long term.

No child deserves such a life due to neglect. Every life is precious and should be handled with care. This is why parents should never fight in front of their children. Marriage problems can also baldly affect brain development if the child is young.

Final Words

That was your complete guide for the child’s brain development during the first three years of its life. We have discussed every aspect in detail to make it easier to understand.

Brain development requires extensive care and love. Be it parents, caregivers, or any other family member, and everyone should be educated regarding this topic as it is one of the most sensitive ones.