I wanted to share with you all some fascinating information about the stages of brain development and how connection with significant others and play actually have an impact on this development.
4 Main areas of the brain...
The four main areas of the brain are...
The Brain Stem
Diencephalon
The Limbic System
The Cortex
The Brainstem
The brain develops from bottom upwards, meaning it starts at the brainstem. The brainstem is in charge of the basic survival needs like breathing, body temp, digestion and the fight / flight response. This is where we would be looking at making sure the infant has food, shelter, warmth / clothing, sleep etc. This part of the brain develops from birth through to around 9 months. Once the infant is secure and has these physiological needs met, he can then put energy into developing other areas of the brain that are in charge of emotions and cognitive (thinking). If the infant is not being met for his basic survival needs at this age, it can slow down the process and he will need to save his energy to stay focussed on his survival needs, delaying other important skills and development.
This stage is a super important one, it's like building a tower and this is the foundations for the rest of the building. If there is not a solid foundation to build upon, the building may not stand tall or work as it should. But even though it is best to start with a solid foundation, it is never too late to rewire and make those connections in the brain stem at a later stage. Hence why play therapy is a vital approach for any child who missed out on any of these stages I am sharing here. Through play, we can re-establish not only the connections and 'wiring' in the brain, but also connections and attachments for children and their significant others.
At this stage sensory experiences are essential for the new infant and baby. This is how they learn and make sense of their surroundings. Millions of neurons are firing and making new connections as they explore with ALL their senses.
Sensory activities to stimulate the brainstem
Rhythmic - Clapping, Singing, Music and drumming
Touch - Different textures, materials, cellophane, wool, paper....soft, hard, rough etc.
Body Awareness Games - Peek-a-boo covering your hands over your face and hiding from baby, then surprising her and saying 'boo', This little piggy song on her toes, feeling and giving a little squeeze to each toe and Round and Round the Garden with her hands and fingers and little tickling under her arms.
Massage - Using baby oil or cream to massage baby's body and stimulate the sensory response in the baby's brain. Just a light touch rubbing the oil or cream in on back, belly, arms or legs. Make sure you use infant approved lotion to not irritate bay's skin. You can make eye contact with her as you massage and sing some soft songs also. This is great for bonding and building attachment.
At this age most mothers naturally play the 'Serve and Return' game. The baby makes a cooing sound or seems like they're talking and the mother copies, the baby smiles and the mother smiles back. This is playful parenting but is also vital for the infant's brain development and is building trust between the mother and child.
Diencephalon
This part of the brain develops most between the ages of 6 months and 2 years. It is in charge of fine motor (picking up objects) and combining several sensory experiences at once. They start to be more active and take note of what their bodies can do. They start crawling, walking, making noises and finding their balance. It is important for the child to have predicability, stability and an attuned available caregiver as they venture a little further away and explore, looking to make sure they have someone to rely on to support them when they come back and need to feel safe again. The more a child feels safe and secure, the more they will explore and engage in play.
All the above activities would still be appropriate for this stage as sensory is still important, but here you could also add in..
Exploratory activities - climbing over foam boulders, spending time putting weight on feet, messy play such as finger painting, sand or goop and making up sensory bags with moving objects so they can practice moving them around for fine motor control.
Reading stories with simple words / rhyming words and pictures.
Dancing is also popular once they start standing
These first two stages of our 'building or foundations' are crucial for children to later develop great pretend play skills which usually kick in around the age of 2 and are important emotional / self-regulating and cognitive / problem solving development areas.
Stay tuned for Part 2 where I will be looking at The Limbic System and the Cerebral Cortex.
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