Today, most parents know that the first years are of vital importance for their baby’s development, who needs the best care during this crucial time. Early experience has indeed a lifelong impact. According to Professor Kevin Nugent, founder and director of the Brazelton Institute at Boston Children’s Hospital and one of the leading experts in matter of early childhood education: “Brain development in the first three years of life is more extensive, more vulnerable to environmental influences and has longer-term impact than was previously thought.”
Compelling research has demonstrated that infancy is a critical period for both social and emotional development. The first experiences of a baby can have lasting effects, both positive or negative. This kind of research has shown that there is a critical window of opportunity in the first three years of a child’s life, and that the rapid brain growth that occurs at this moment – when brain pathways are established – won’t be repeated in later years. This is why relation with primary caregivers is really the key.
Picture: Toddler at Play, by Thomas Eakins (Wikipedia, w/Effects)
