It’s been estimated that a toddler’s brain is about twice as active as that of a university student, suggesting there’s a lot more going on inside that little noggin than a pressing desire to smear the walls with yoghurt. In fact, medical research has shown that unlike any other part of the human body, the brain has done most of its growing by the time a child is five years old.

By that time, most of the critical pathways and connections within the brain have already been laid down, and some have been discarded permanently. What remains is the foundation for a lifetime of future learning.

Young children’s minds are often described as ‘sponges’ due to their capacity to absorb so much of what is going on around them, but perhaps that is understating the matter. Maybe a ‘mop’ is a better description, because it is possible that young children can soak up a virtually limitless amount of information. But here’s the big question: is the size of your child’s ‘mop’ predetermined, or can early education increase its absorbency?

Nature versus nurture

Researchers have long sought to prove that intelligence is a purely genetic trait, but overwhelmingly the proof shows otherwise. While adults with high IQs are more likely to have children with high IQs, the reason is as much, or even more, to do with a child’s developmental environment as any hereditary hard-wiring.

“A stimulating environment can dramatically increase IQ,” argues Dr Jan Strydom, a professional educator who developed the Audiblox preschool program for children with learning challenges. “At birth, every person is dealt a hand of cards – his genetic make-up. But without having learned the game and without regular and rigorous practice, nobody will ever become a champion at any game.”

A recent study by North American researchers found that bright teenagers do have a different brain structure to their more average classmates but that this structure is largely shaped during the formative years. Apparently, there is a critical ‘use it or lose it’ phase of early brain development during which unwanted connections between neurones are pruned as the brain streamlines its operations. It is at this time that parents can make a vital, brain-boosting difference.

Baby, it’s you!

It starts right at the beginning. The bond between parent and newborn is the first and most important link between the baby and the outside world. A parent’s responsiveness is the critical source of all new information for a baby, so this vital relationship is the foundation upon which he will both learn, and learn how to learn.

“Positive, responsive interactions really enhance young children’s brain development and overall development,” says Dr Ali Black, an early childhood educator at Queensland’s University of Technology. “Babies thrive when they realise there is a responsive adult nearby who reacts promptly to their cries, comforts them and talks to them, plays with them and sings to them. Even very young babies benefit from storytelling, rhymes and songs.”

Some research suggests that when a baby has loving, caring experiences, the connections within the brain that relate to feeling good and learning are actually strengthened. Correspondingly, when a baby feels unhappy or stressed much of the time, or receives little stimulation, the brain connections that relate to stress are strengthened.

One study, conducted in the North American state of Iowa, followed 25 babies in a crowded, understaffed orphanage. Thirteen of the babies, with an average age of 19 months, were put in the personal care of women trained to look after them, with specific attention paid to providing lots of one-on-one intellectual stimulation. Within

18 months, the children placed with these substitute mothers were found to have experienced an average IQ increase of 29 points, whereas the IQ of the children who remained in the orphanage had actually decreased.

The power of play

A young child’s play activity is the equivalent of an adult’s work. It is the medium through which they both keep busy and learn. While there are myriad educational toys and structured activities available to the modern parent looking to stimulate their young child, the process of learning doesn’t have to be so rigid. An overall playful atmosphere is all that is needed to keep the young brain constantly ticking over.

According to Dr Black, it can be as simple as providing children with a happy running commentary on life. “As a parent, I always talked to my children when they were young, describing virtually everything that I did as I did it,” she says. “At the end of the day I would always recount the special things that we had done. ‘What did we do today? We went to the beach and scrunched our toes in the sand. It was windy, wasn’t it?’

“I’m sure the reason that both my children are prolific talkers is because they have always been exposed to language by way of explanations, story-reading and socio-dramatic play.”

Dr Black believes that routines and rituals are also fundamental to a young child’s capacity to make sense of the world around them.

“Through these, a child learns that there are predictable things in the world and caring, responsive adults to love them and interact with them,” she says.

“Their resultant confidence and sense of self are the key to how they are going to approach new situations throughout life.”

Art’s at the heart

While there is much you can do at home, some lessons are only imparted via a ‘bigger picture’ approach to intellectual and cultural stimulation. One of the richest experiences we can offer our children is exposure to the creative arts through theatre, singing, painting, dance and storytelling. No matter where you live, every community has some art at its heart. Find out what is on offer and introduce your little one to an experience that simply can not be recreated in your home.

Aren’t you clever

Try these great ideas for creative learning at home

1 – 2 YEARS:
Melting ice – show your little one how ice becomes water. This simple (and cost-free!) activity allows you to observe and discuss transformations, as well as helping your child to discriminate between objects visually. Talk about temperatures changing

from cold to warm.

2 – 3 YEARS:

Sink or float? This activity involves comparing the effects of placing different objects into water (for example: a rubber duck versus a rock from the garden). This way, children learn how to create and test a hypothesis, while also learning how to predict outcomes.

Related Links
* Gallery: Brain food for toddlers