5 Steps for a Healthy Brain

By William H. Staso, Ph.D.

If you are the parent or caretaker of a child between 12 and 24 months of age, you already know the eagerness he or she has for learning. Toddlers see the world as new and exciting, and it isn’t hard to be caught up in their enthusiasm. This drive to explore and experiment is the result of changes in their brains. What they show an interest in is exactly what their brains need in order to become aware of and adapt to their environment. In a general sense, toddlers are interested in learning language, attending to patterns and exploring relationships. They do not want just to observe life as they did as infants, however; they want to become “involved.” Here are some ideas to tap into your toddler’s interests and to make a positive difference in his or her brain development.

#1 Call attention to important
patterns in the environment.

What are some of these important patterns? There are two types to consider: sequenced events and situations. Sequences are very interesting to toddlers. Many developmental psychologists, in fact, believe that the brains of young children naturally link events in time in a cause-effect relationship. You can assist the correctness of this understanding by demonstrating both physical occurrences (examples: effects of light, temperature, water, gravity and wind) and social conventions (examples: knocking on doors to enter, taking turns and saying “thank you”). Children at this age are also intrigued by the sequences used in common tasks, such as cleaning, cooking and dressing. The brain regards such learning as critical to adaptation, and it will establish physical nerve networks to reflect the sequences.
A second important pattern to pay attention to concerns situations. Toddlers do not show as obvious an interest in situations as they do sequences. But in the teen months they begin noticing what is typically involved in grouping patterns. For instance, what are the objects, who are the people and what are the events surrounding an experience at a restaurant? It is thought that preschool-age children use this information in the form of scripts to understand and adapt in the environment at large. You can, beginning in the toddler months, actively point out this “what,” “who” and even “why” and “how” information when you are in stores or other places with your child.

#2 Encourage your child’s physical
participation in activities.

During the infant-toddler-preschool years, children acquire more information about objects and sequences when they themselves are actively and physically involved. Such exploration can provide information about objects’ flexibility, sturdiness, functional uses, movement and physical state, allowing the child to establish categorical understandings.
The learning of spatial concepts is also made much easier with physical involvement. For instance, the word “under” will have more significance when the toddler goes “under” a table when the word is used. Placing toddlers in a restricted area or with a restricted range of objects diminishes their adaptive development. More helpful is being present as much as possible as a guide to your child, looking out for safety issues and being interactively available.

#3 Talk to your child and
elaborate on what you say.

When you speak with your toddler you are helping to develop his or her receptive vocabulary. During the 12- to 24-month age range, children want to know the names of objects. As you point out these names, be as clear as possible as to what you are referring to. “Hands-on” involvement aids the process of language learning. You can also use “context” clues; for example, use an expression, such as “I am going to pick up the book,” and then demonstrate the action. You are additionally helping your toddler develop grammar understanding when you speak to him/her. Learning that in English we construct sentences with a noun, verb and object requires that the toddler hear many sentences and be able to relate with understanding to what is heard. Studies have indicated that when mothers ask questions and then repeat their child’s answers with rephrased expansions, the children become more advanced in their grammar. As an example of such expansions, if the child answers “cage”

#4 Maintain a positive,predictable
and rewarding atmosphere.

Studies have found that the overall mood you project to your child impacts the chemistry of the developing brain. One researcher, for instance, found that interchanges between depressed mothers and their infants actually produced brain activity in the infants that resembled the depression of their mothers. A cheerful, optimistic atmosphere produces a more buoyant and emotionally resilient child. Young children are very influenced by the type of emotional energy and the degree to which their caretakers are positive and supportive. Consistency in routine makes learning what is important easier to take note of and provides greater emotional security.

#5 Encourage practice
and welcome repetition.

Practicing the basics, writes one neurologist, makes acquiring later information more efficient. Other researchers have noted that what a child extracts from any given situation is only a part of the total knowledge possible from that object, event or circumstance. In fact, infants and toddlers may only attend to a particular element of what is heard, seen or felt for many occasions before noticing any other property. The brain takes time to physically construct the associations that reflect the realities of the environment. Don’t hurry the process. There is a lot to be learned!

Back to top