Child development is crucial throughout the early years, during this time the development of the brain occurs. The development of the brain contributes to the functioning of the body. The anatomy of the brain is made up of neurons and divided into four different lobes. The temporal, frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes control a variety of cognitive functions. The brain controls simple functions such as fine and gross motor skills, vision, and memory. According to Meadows (1993, p.263), at all sorts of levels in the brain there are programs for functions such as breathing, sleeping, and producing coherent language. Brain development in children is vital during the early years. During the early years, children brains are active enabling children to learn a variety of information. Many studies have been conducted and they have concluded a healthy lifestyle, physical activity, and exposing young children to a variety of education material assist with child development. The first few years of a child’s life is crucial as far as his intellectual as well as socio-emotional abilities are concerned (Bose, 2000). Brain Development Brains and the more nonessential parts of the nervous system are made up of neurons (Meadows, 1993 p. 266). The brain is made up of neurons, axons, dendrites, and synapse. They all have their individual job that contributes to the functioning of the body. The weight of the brain increases as a child develops into adulthood. According to Siegler & Alibali (2005, p13), the changes in the size of the brain make it possible for advanced thinking. The neurons are the functioning core of the brain (Brotherson, 2005). The brain begins to develop in the mother’s womb and continue to develop as the child develops. The neuron has branches protruding from the cell sending signals to the synapse and axon. The synapse and axon shapes the brain which allows connections to be made. Young children learn new information when they follow the same routine on a regular base. If a parent repeatedly calls a child a certain name, then connections form that allow the child to recognize that name over time and he or she will begin to respond to that name (Brotherson, 2005). Through repetitive experiences the axons and synapse strengthen causing learning to take place. The brain is divided into four major lobes: the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and the temporal lobe. Each lobe contributes to cognitive development in young children.
As every child grows up in a different environment, not all have a safe one to grow up in and as a result everything that surrounds them becomes apart of the clarity that their mind incorporates and becomes apart of that child 's behavior of way. In terms of brain development children or teens often listen, and see what is around them, it is also said, by researchers of the National Institute of Health, that in recent studies that were made that in teen years massive loss of brain tissue...
The early stages of a child’s lifespan is the most crucial part of their overall development. “Brain and biological development during this time is influenced by an infant's environment”(Statistics
Since neuroscience has formulated many hypothesis about the human brain development through constant research efforts and continue work on past predecessors theories in the effort to expound upon these theories on how the brain grows at critical ages in our lives that affects our cognitive capabilities to think, memory, mood, and our reactions to multiple situations in our life developmental stages during adolescence.
Scientists have identified four major sections (or lobes) of the brain. There is a fifth section identified that is contained on the inside of the brain and cannot be seen from the external sections. The four lobes are found on both hemispheres (the two halves identified in the brain). The four lobes are the frontal, parietal (the upper portion), temporal (lower portion), and occipital (the farthest back section).
Cognitive development = == == == ==
Every child’s cognitive development is different. Cognitive development is the process of gaining skills by brain development to gain the ability to think and comprehend. These skills once matured are beneficial to youth especially when they begin grade sch...
The frontal lobe is the most anterior section of the brain. The frontal lobe is associated with reasoning, planning, speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving. (2) The frontal lobe is the last to fully mature which is why children and teenagers may have difficult time making correct decisions and thinking about consequences afterwards. Studies using MRI testing have proven that most traumatic brain injuries happen in the frontal region of the brain. (5) The frontal lobe is involved in controlling so many aspects of our life, if the frontal lobe was to be damaged there are many possible outcomes. Patient may lose strength in arms, creating facial expressions becomes more difficult, difficulty in speaking, personality may change, and IQ scores may go down. Scientists have shown IQ tests may decrease because a frontal lobe injury impacts the person’s problem solving abilities. (5)
The neurons necessary for brain function are located here but are still not connected until the baby grows, which then carry information back and forth the brain. Neurons are different to other egg shaped cells in the body in that they have tentacles, this allows them to clasp on to one another, creating pathways. In the period after birth, these connections or ‘Synapses’ grow which allows the baby to develop several significant milestones and by the time they are two years of age the brain has developed on average one hundred trillion synapses. Everything a child learns is stored in the neurons, which creates a path across the synapses, which is continually strengthened by repetition.
In the article “You Can Grow Your Brain” Scientist show the brain is a lot like a muscle, when you start exercising you can barely lift anything when you exercise for an extended period of time you can lift more from when you started the brain is the same way. Nerve cells connect to other cells which allow for problem solving and critical thinking to happen when you learn something new they grow in number and become stronger. Scientist proves this by taking two groups of adults who had no knowledge of juggling, the scientist showed one half how to
Neurogenesis is the creation of new brain cells. Even though neural connections are “wired early and are resistant to change” we now know through neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, that these connections can and do change over our lifespan (Fishbane, 2007, p. 397). The most rapid period of neurogenesis occurs at the embryonic state of human development (Rutecki, 1992), called embryogenesis. At this stage, progenitor cells, and neural stem cells, which are similar to progenitor cells, differentiate into specific types of cells, and in the case of the human brain, these cells are called neurons (Zhang & Jiao, 2015). A human baby can produce billions of neurons and millions of neural connections, or “neural pathways,” by the age of 3, more than any period in a typical human’s lifetime. In fact, at this stage in human development, the average child is producing around 700 neural connections per second (InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development, 2012). “Experience alters the brain, even as we age…whenever we learn something new, attitudes, perspectives, or behaviors, we are changing the physical structure of the brain” (Fishbane, 2007, p.
In the developing stages of a child, psychological factors play a huge role in th...
Adults and teachers need to do everything possible to keep physical development from being delayed. Adults can provide children with opportunities to help them in development. By the age of three a child's brain is three quarters of its adult size. From infancy to the age of two development is very rapid (Santrock, 1996). For this reason it is essential for the child to be able to explore their world around them.
Rapid growth of the brain and nervous system continues during the early years of a child’s life, however because of birth defects or health problems some children may be at a risk of cognitive delays. Problems such as Autism, where children may have a difficult time with language skills and sensitivity to touch, behavioral problems, or chemical exposures can all affect a child’s cognitive development. For most children though with a proper diet and plenty of stimulation cognitive abilities will develop rapidly, and by about 7 years ones cognitive skills have become “functionally related to the elements of adult intelligence.”
What a child experiences in the first few years of life largely determines how their brain will develop and how they will interact with the world throughout their life. Brains are built up over time, from the bottom up. The basic architecture of the brain is constructed though an ongoing process that begins before birth and continues on through adult hood. For children’s brains to become highly developed for learning, repeated experience are essential. Children will developed bet if they are proved with: positive supportive relationships, routines and consistency, chance to repeat activities, hands on interaction
The second most important factor in the development of a child’s healthy brain is communication. Communication can happen in the mesosystem or the exosystem. In the mesosystem, communication may be taking place between parent(s) and child, caregiver and child, parent and teacher, or teacher and student. All of these examples are very crucial. Parents have to make it a number one priority to keep communication open with their child. As infants, they need to talk to their child because it helps them learn and bond with them. That bond will continue to grow if the communication does not stop. It is also necessary that parents make a habit to check in with their child’s teacher. This will keep them up to date on what they need to work on at home,