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Growing Young Minds
Baby brains are constantly growing! The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a baby's development. A newborn's brain is about 25 percent of its approximate adult weight. But by age 3, it has grown dramatically by producing billions of cells and hundreds of trillions of pathways between these cells. These pathways allow a baby to learn, and are stimulated every time a baby reacts to something around her such as colors, sounds and happy emotions. By the time a child becomes an adult, her brain has grown to four times its original weight. Exposing children to a variety of books and pictures helps stimulate their tiny brains. Introducing a child to a variety of picture books from birth helps nurture the development of the important connections or "synapses" (see picture below) in the brain that are needed for the baby's brain to grow. "Peek-A-Boo" + "lift the flap books"Playing Peek-A-Boo with a child as you read a "lift the flap" book stimulates brain activity and helps the young brain to grow. Games teach children expressions, suspense, emotions, and the element of surprise. Lifting the flaps contributes to an early literacy skill called "print motivation". As children are exposed to books and are read to regularly, their brains are stimulated to develop, and they slowly acquire the early literacy skills that will help them be "ready to learn" when they get to kindergarten. Currently, children in Maine are receiving Maisy's Big Flap Book at their 15-month well-child check-up! To learn more about the "Peek-A-Boo Principle" read "The Peek-A-Boo Principle: Building Baby's Brain". Learn more about brain development in babies at |
