Educating With Love Stimulates Children’s Brain Development
It is necessary to be clear: love will never make a child spoil, if a baby cries it does not do so because of manipulating the parents. Educating with love and respect is the best way to promote the brain development of our children. Because constant and seamless affection is the best food and the only root that will allow us to give happy people to the world.
Not all of us are knowledgeable when it comes to child neurology. No one has taught us how those structures grow and develop that day by day, will shape that powerful organ with which our child will interact with the environment. Now, something that as a mother and as a good father you know well is that you want the best for them, and that love is the best instrument with which to channel your emotions to give them the best.
However, and here comes one of the most classic problems when it comes to education and parenting, there are those who take the aspect of parenting or emotional management to an unpedagogical extreme. In fact, not long ago approaches such as the classic “Estivill method” reminded us that it was better not to attend to the crying of the child at night or even that parenting with attachment was synonymous with spoiling.
We return to what was said at the beginning: we must be clear that love will never make a child become a manipulator, affection never exceeds, never bothers or hinders. We must develop a wise, patient and intuitive love. In fact, just remember something very simple: a baby not only needs food to grow, it needs the affection of its parents also to mature.
Understanding children’s brain development
Not long ago we talked to you about the topic of child neuroeducation. As we pointed out to you at the time, the term “neuro” is in fashion and puts at our disposal very valuable data and information about our brain, about why we are the way we are or we react the way we do.
It is therefore a tool of power, and it is even more so when it comes to children. Understanding the following principles will show us once again that love is the best fuel in a child’s life.
When a baby is born it has millions of neurons, but many disappear
We are sure that you have heard many times that when a child enters the world, they have millions and millions of neurons ready to make up that brain specialization.
Well, there are some nuances about children’s brain development that should be known:
- Even though we are born with millions of neuronal cells, all of them are small and mostly unconnected to the different parts of the brain.
- A child needs ongoing interactions for connections to begin to form. A caress is a new neuronal connection, a kiss, a hug, words, the warmth of the mother’s skin and even the smell of the mother herself generates wonderful connections so that little by little each neuronal structure is “configured” with more force.
- This neural wiring is built with that daily contact with the environment. All architecture is created in which love is the best architect.
- As the brain specializes, there are neurons that are destroyed because they have not connected.
- In turn, if a child does not receive enough stimulation, if he is neglected, if his crying or his emotional needs are ignored, we model a brain where fear and insecurity are two constant pillars.
90-95% of the child’s development occurs in the first 5 years of life
It is what María Montessori also called the sensitive period. From the moment a child is born until the age of 5, they will have the maximum potential to promote their brain development.
- We must not fall into the mistake of taking advantage of this time to start early and intensively in reading, writing or in a new language. It is not a priority.
- It will be positive, of course, but we will never do it to the point that they lose their childhood or that they spend the whole day without our closeness. It’s a mistake.
- The real priority is to invest in affection, in secure attachment, in that love that favors your self-esteem. Doing so will not make you spoil, what it will do is make your brain and especially structures such as the hypothalamus or the cerebral cortex, related to emotions or decision making, take hold with more strength.
The human brain is a relational organ
There are those who think of the human brain as that machine that, like a computer, allows us to be skilled in mathematics, language, music … We must understand that, above all, the brain is an entity that has advanced thanks to social interaction .
- Without love, we turn off. Without affection we feel estranged from society, from our social group. Self-esteem falls and behaviors of detachment develop, and sometimes even hostility.
- Always remember that a child’s brain grows from the back to the front and from the inside out. In other words, the brain structures that develop first are those related to emotions.
So … why not feed the children with love? Do not hesitate, you are doing very well.
Images courtesy of Steve Hanks
