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7/29/2019 Your Babys Developing Brain
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distances. They also receive touch and
position inormation as they learn to
move in coordination. Think o the work
out their eet and hands are getting in
preparation or later ne motor tasks.
Body awareness is quickly improving
as a result o the stimulation o the
many touch and movement receptors
in their muscles and ligaments as
they move across the room. They are
also gaining urther 3D awareness
through their vision and hearing. This
is a tremendous time or exploration
and learning about themselves and
their world through sensory input.
The Mid Brain
The mid brain comes next up this
orderly, predictable, sequential child
development ladder. It controls all
the messages coming into the brain
rom the body and urther stimulates
the development o perception and
3D awareness through creeping.
Creeping on the hands and knees is
the hall mark o this period o
development. Both sides
o the brain called the
hemispheres are
now working
in coordination,
this is called cross
pattern. Right arm and hand orward
and at the same time the bent let leg
moves orward. All this is refex driven
and does not appear again until the two
hemispheres o the brain begin to work
independently and in support o one
another, during the third year o lie.
Think o the muscle development
o the shoulders, arms and hands,
while the inant is creeping. This is
so important to later writing. The
distance also between the eyes and
the hands o a creeping inant, are
the same as between the eyes and
a book at school age. Think o the
sensory messages bombarding an
inants brain as they creep. This is a
very dramatic period o development.
The Cortex
The cortex sits over the brain stem and
is responsible or comprehension o
and response to the sensory messages
coming in rom the body. It orms the
bulk o the let and right hemispheres,
with a mass o nerves
interconnecting the two.
As an inant begins to push
into an upright position, the
cortex begins to play a more important
role, usually in the early months o
the second year o lie. Initially, each
hal o the brain does the same thing,
almost as i it needs to reinorce each
hemisphere. For example, our toddlers
push along with both eet in the same
pattern when riding a push along car.
Early speech appears and the slow
transition to independent control o the
two hemispheres begins to develop.
The later postural refexes now
develop and exist or the remainder
o lie. These refexes are
important or posture andbalance. Coordination and
balance improve in order or
the next important stage o
development cortical or sensory
integration to ully develop. This is
a period o important consolidation.
Cortical/Sensory Integration
Somewhere between 2 or 3 years
o age, the brain matures and there
is a separation o controls or specic
tasks by the two hemispheres. This
allows independent movement o the
limbs such as standing on one oot,
and cutting out with one hand while
holding the paper with the other.
Children prior to this stage worked
both hands or both eet
together. Now children can
learn to ride the tricycle,
which requires the eet
to push in opposite
directions to one another
and the arms to work in
coordination to steer.
Independent hand skills allow
the emergence o recognisable drawing
(mainly!) They still draw as they see
or instance a three year old drawing
o a man will be a big head with arms
and legs coming out rom the head
this is how they see an adult as they
look up. The our year old with better
body awareness, knows he has a
body and draws people accordingly.
It is oten also said that a child enters
this stage in nappies and leaves it in
pants! In other words, the child now
has a better tactile system. It is another
dramatic year in a childs development.
Finally, the most recent brain
acquisition in evolution, the neo
cortex, begins to mature. This part o
the brain is only present in humans.
The Neo Cortex
The neo cortex is the top secti
brain. It is responsible or the
level o inormation processing
result o all the inormation rela
the brain up through the brain
and other complex neural circu
Children by now are automatic
patterned in their movements
one side and the leg on the oth
being orward). This is seen in
running, walking, throwing, etc
automatic unc
improves b
and ena
many n
such as
skipping, g
up and down stairs unaided, th
more accurately with a preerre
speaking more fuently and dra
Thus with growing independen
and understanding, children e
more in control o themselves
their world. I can do it myse
the catch cry o this age! This
also a tremendous time or lan
development and an understan
o the things in their world, in
preparation or a great time at
Helping your childs
developing brain
Child rearing is one o the mos
important tasks in lie. Parents
to be aware that they are their
rst and most important teach
that they can assist in their chi
healthy development. Recogni
that brain development occurs
a natural, orderly and sequenti
pattern is an important compo
o understanding how to best
children achieve. Providing ex
and opportunities that best ma
requirements and capabilities o
developing brain is a great star
Dr Jane Williams is the Research a
Education General Manager of Gy
and Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Scho
Nursing, Midwifery and Nutrition,
Cook University, Townsville, QLD.is an edited and updated version o
written for GymbaROO parent edu
in 1994 by Margaret Sasse, found
GymbaROO.
Illustrations by Georges McKail, ta
Tomorrows Children, Sasse, M. (2
Melbourne: GymbaROO.
05
BabyROO
Dr Jane Williams
Birth is an important and exciting timeor new parents. At birth inants are
perectly ormed human beings, but
their brains and nervous system are
very immature. How well an inant
develops depends on the type and
number o experiences a growing
brain receives. Genetics, nutrition,
emotional security and the opportunity
given to the inbuilt refexes are
essential components o healthy brain
development. But brain development
is orderly and sequential, so the timing
o dierent types o opportunities and
stimulation are also important. Just as
you cant teach a newborn baby to read,
you cannot teach a ve year old to read
i they have not had the opportunity
to develop the oundational skills o
learning in inancy and early childhood.At GymbaROO we believe that parents
who understand their childrens
developmental needs are more likely
to provide an environment that is
conducive to healthy development.
Understanding how the brain develops
is an important part o this knowledge.
At birth, babies see, but they do not
understand. They have no control over
their eye muscles, so they cannot x
upon an object or bring it into ocus.
They hear, but know little o the source
or meaning o the sounds that reach
their ears. They eel, but have no idea
o their body shape. They taste and
smell, but have yet to learn the meaning
or signicance o these senses.
Their bodily responses and movementsare dominated by involuntary, inbuilt
refexes. For example, an inant easily
startles, arms fy out, they cry, and
as they do, they take a deep breath.
Some say this is the rst time the
inant becomes aware that those things
on the end o their arms are theirs!
These responses provide our inants
with survival mechanisms and early
movement patterns, refecting thelevel at which the brain is unctioning.
The Medulla
At birth the inant is operating at the
lowest level o brain unction in the
brain stem, or the medulla. This is a
refex stage, which nature has provided
to ensure the survival o the inant.
As can be
seen on the
illustration,
this inant
is in what
is called
the encing
position; this
is a refex
position,
which occurs
when the inants head is turned to
one side. Head movement triggers
most o the early refexes. These
refexes are called primitive refexes
and are automatic involuntary. These
movements come under voluntary
control during the early months ater
birth. For example, a refex that enables
an inant to suck also stimulates the
opening and closing o their sts, so
tightly shut ater birth except when
sucking. In time and with experience,
the inant learns to suck at will and
open and close sts when desired.
Early vision is a refex to light. Inants
cannot see at near point at rst but
this develops through experience
and movement. Light and movementstimulate vision. For this reason visual
specialists oten recommend a light
be let on in an inants room low
on the foor and within their sight.
Babies have no idea o touch, they can
eel, but do not know where! Slowly
as the messages rom their refex
movements and through eeling, light,
sound, taste and smell, they gain
more voluntary control andenter a higher brain stem level o
development aided by the input
generated by the cerebellum,
which eeds inormation into
the brain stem, primarily into the
medulla and pons stages.
The Cerebellum
The cerebellum is situated at the
side o the brain stem, at the back
o the brain. This area is responsible
or regulating the refexes and
muscle tone, thus maintaining the
body's coordination and balance. It
also plays an important role in the
control o the muscles o the eyes.
Stimulation o the cerebellum occurs
as inants are rolled, bounced, tumbled,
spun and generally
moved about by
their parents,
stimulating the
tiny hairs in the
inner ear, which
send bulk
messages to the
cerebellum about
where their body is in relation to
space and gravity. This is oten
called vestibular stimulation.
The cerebellum interacts with both
the medulla and the pons areas o
the brain stem. Its greatest period
o growth is rom birth to 15 months
o age and at a slower rate in the
seven eight years o age group.
The Pons
Between ve and eight months,
inants gain control over the refexes
and they begin to move orward in a
sort o crocodile crawl. This occurs
at the pons level o the brain.
As inants can now get that toy by
themselves their eyes are learning
to ocus at diering
Your
BrainDevelopingBabys