Understanding Brain Development in Children 

The brain is the command center of our body. Yet, it is the only organ that is not fully developed by the time we are born. Let’s explore how the brain develops from birth onwards.

The Brain at Birth 

When a baby is born, his brain already has most of the hundred thousand million brain cells (neurons) that he will have as an adult. However, those neurons ⁽¹⁾ are not yet connected to each other. During the baby’s life they will get connected to each other creating trillions of connections. 

When we feel emotional because our child says, ‘I love you’, when we react to a danger, when talk to our loved ones, or we read a book, is because our neurons are communicating to one another. This is how our brain works. 

How Does the Brain Develop? 

The brain gets bigger for a long time after birth. By the time a child ⁽²⁾   is 6 years-old, the brain is 90% of the adult size. The adult brain weighs about 1.4 kg. 

A baby’s brain develops through their experiences, relationships and interactions. Through all these experiences, the brain creates new neural pathways. The more the brain uses these pathways, the stronger they become. Those pathways that are not used will die. This is called synaptic pruning. Its function is to make the brain more efficient by letting go of those pathways that we do not need.  

The brain develops from back to front. The frontal lobe is the last part of the brain to develop.  In the frontal lobe is where our executive functions live. Executive functions ⁽³⁾ are the most important skills to have in life. They are skills such as planning, concentration, decision making, understanding other people, self-awareness, flexibility, attention… As you can see, without these skills it is very difficult to do well. The frontal lobe keeps developing until we are around 25 years old. 

When Does the Brain Stop Developing? 

The brain keeps changing through our life. Our brain as a baby is very different to our brain when we are teenagers, which is again different to our adult brain.  

The early years are the most active for establishing neural connections. More than 1 million neural connections are formed every second in the first fear years of life. The connections that are formed early in life, provide either a strong or weak foundation for the connections that will be created later.  

A baby’s brain can create so many neural connections because it is incredibly plastic ⁽⁴⁾. Through adolescence, the brain goes through another period of great plasticity. During this time, the brain reinforces the most important connections and prunes those that are no longer relevant. This allows for a huge expansion of skills. The plasticity of the brain declines as we get older. 

What Role Do Parents Play in the Brain Development of our Children? 

It is important not to go overboard here. In general, remember that provided a child is well taken care of, they will reach their full potential. As parents and caregivers ⁽⁵⁾ these are the things we can do to support our child’s brain development: 

• Protect your child: adverse experiences such as being exposed to poverty, neglect or abuse may hinder the brain’s development. These experiences create stress in children, and this stress may alter the structure and functions of the brain.  

• Establish a loving, responsive relationship with your child: child thrive when they interact with adults that are caring and responsive.  

• Feed them well: Nourishment is important because the brain needs a lot of energy. Twenty per cent of the calories we consume are used to fuel the brain. 

• They need their sleep: getting enough sleep while growing up can benefit the development of children’s brains. Research has found that the brain of children who do not get enough sleep had less grey area or smaller volume in some areas of the brain responsible for memory, attention, and inhibition control.  

Six Myths About Brain Development in Children 

1. The brain ⁽⁶⁾  is fully developed at birth. Not at all! The majority of neurons are already there when a baby is born but the connections between the neurons need to be established.  

2. The more you stimulate your child, the better.  Well, this is not correct.  Children need enough stimulation for their brain to develop, but there is a threshold. The idea that if a little bit of stimulation is good, a ton of it must be better, is not correct.   

3. The sooner you start to stimulate a baby, the better. Yes, but with nuances.  Children can only start to read, write or walk when their brains are ready for it. Pushing them too early to acquire a skill may mean that they are not ready for it and it may even be counterproductive. It is important to remember that each child has a different rhythm of learning. Some will go faster than others. Childhood is not a race.  

4. Children only learn from adults. Not at all! Children learn from everyone around them. They learn different things from children than from adults, but they learn from everyone around them.  

5. Some children are right-brained, others are left-brained. Children that are artistic, are meant to be right-brained and those who are more analytical, are meant to be left-brained. This idea is a myth. There is a small industry making money out of promising to improve your child’s life by helping them to optimize both sides of the brain. You can happily ignore them and save some money.  

6. Play is not important. No! Play is important because it supports children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. And remember that play does not have to be structured and organized to be useful. Children benefit a lot from unstructured, unsupervised and outdoors play.  

Finally… 

You may also find these resources useful: 

Executive Functions: Discover Everything You Need to Know 

Developmental Milestones at 2-Years-Old 

Matrescence: Are We Finally Understanding Motherhood? 

Understanding and Identifying Your Child’s Nutritional Needs 

The Importance of Sleep for Children and Teenagers   

I hope this information is useful. Remember that I am here if you have any questions or worries. Get in touch anytime! 

Love, 

Ana 

Dr Ana Aznar 

References 

⁽¹⁾ Lenroot, R.K., & Giedd, J.N. (2006). Brain development in children and adolescents: Insights from anatomical magnetic resonance imaging. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 30(6), 718-729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2006.06.001 

⁽²⁾ Brown, T.T., & Jernigan, T.L. (2012). Brain development during the preschool years. Neuropsychological Rev, 22(4), 313-333. doi:10.1007/s11065-012-9214-1. 

⁽³⁾ Blakemore, S.J., & Choudhury, S. (2006). Development of the adolescent brain: Implications for executive function and social cognition. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(3), 296-312. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01611.x 

⁽⁴⁾ Kolb, B., Mychasiuk, R., Muhammad, R., & Gibb, R. (2013). Brain plasticity in the developing brain. Progress in Brain Research, 35-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-63327-9.00005-9 

⁽⁵⁾ Belsky, J., & de Haan, M. (2011). Annual research review: Parenting and children’s brain development: the end of the beginning. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52(4), 409-428. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02281.x 

⁽⁶⁾ Furnham, A. (2018). Myths and misconceptions in Developmental and Neuro-Psychology. Psychology, 9, 249-259. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2018.92016