The importance of brain development: Factors that have a long term influence in a childs life

The first 1000 days of life are a very important period for the health and brain development of children. Because this is the stage where the fastest growing brain in all stages of life and is the foundation for success in the future. For the best brain development, nutrition and parental care are the deciding factors.

In this article, aFamilyToday Health introduces you to the role of brain development in your child's life in the future and the secret to helping your baby's brain develop optimally in the first 1000 days of life. Invite you to find out!

The role of brain development in the child's life in the future

The brain is the command center of the body and holds many important functions such as controlling the functions of organs, controlling movement, activities, emotions, cognitive abilities (learning and memory). ) ... Each function will be performed by a different part of the brain such as:

The center of the brain controls eye movements.

The brain bridge is responsible for the coordination of eye and face movement, facial sensation, hearing and balance.

The cerebellum helps coordinate movements or create rhythm during movement.

The hypothalamus controls functions such as eating, sleeping, temperature regulation, emotion, hormone secretion, and movement.

The left hemisphere is responsible for language and speech and plays a key role in information processing and spatial determination.

The hippocampus is related to the ability to remember information.

The frontal cortex plays an important role in memory, intelligence, concentration, temperament and personality ....

As neural connections mature during childhood, children will be able to move and think in complex ways.

Since birth, the brain has been "equipped" with all the brain cells (nerve cells) necessary, however, the connection between these cells has not really worked yet. The first 1000 days of life is the time when these connections are gradually formed and completed. According to research, the first 1000 days of life, brain cells can make up to 1000 connections per second and only takes place at this stage. These connections will contribute to the child's brain function development and learning, creating a foundation for future health and well-being. More specifically, they help form important skills such as problem solving skills, communication skills as children get older.

Therefore, the first years of life are the best opportunities for the perfect development of your baby's brain for your baby to grow up healthy, capable, and successful in the future. If you miss this stage, these nerve connections will be very difficult to form in the next stages when your baby is grown.

 See brain anatomy diagram for better understanding 

How to help a child's brain develop optimally in the first 1000 days of life?

Help your baby's daily experience always be enjoyable and positive

From the very beginning, brain connections develop through children's everyday experiences. These connections are built through positive interactions between children with their parents and caregivers and by using their senses to interact with the world.

Scientists have shown that a child's daily experiences determine which brain connections develop and last a lifetime. Therefore, the good care, love from loved ones, the stimuli and interactions your child receives during his first years of life make a difference.

The more parents take care of their children, the better they feel love and trust. In addition, for children to love reading, discovering, exploring, learning and memorizing, from the moment their children are only 2-3 months old, parents should read, sing to their children, give them food. suitable toys, spend time with children, educate them mentally and emotionally.

Nutritional supplements help with brain development

According to female professor Bing Wang, Charles Sturt University, New South Wales, Australia, brain development will be closely related to the amount of nutrition that children are provided each day. Because nutrients can regulate nerve pathways, synaptic conduction, signal transduction and joint flexibility. Therefore, in order for the child's brain to develop optimally, parents need to pay special attention to the child's nutrition in this golden stage.

In the first 6 months after your baby is born, you need to breastfeed your baby exclusively because breast milk contains all the nutrients that your baby needs in the right ratio. Not only that, but breast milk also helps to increase the intelligence of the baby during many years in the first stage of life or may even extend into adulthood. Breast milk does this thanks to the amount of brain development fatty acids (DHA) and HMO nutrients in the milk and the interaction and caressing between mother and baby when the baby is breastfed.

If for some special reason it is impossible to breastfeed your baby, you can give your baby a formula instead. When choosing formula for your baby, you need to choose formulas that are similar to breast milk and have nutrients that support brain development. DHA is an extremely beneficial nutrient for brain development that almost all parents know and especially care about when choosing milk. However, little is known that DHA is easily oxidized and that this nutrient works best in the presence of powerful antioxidants such as lutein and natural vitamin E. Therefore, to choose milk for your baby, you need to give priority to the milk that provides a full three nutrients including lutein - natural vitamin E - DHA to provide the most nutrients for brain development in babies. At the same time helps strengthen more than 81% of nerve connections.

There is a fact that when giving formula milk to their children, many parents wonder that: Milk-rich formula helps children develop brain, causing constipation? Besides, the immediate manifestations in the baby's digestive system when using formula like constipation  made parents even more confused by this rumor. The advice is that parents should rest assured because formula milk has been researched and developed by nutritionists for many years so that the product has the closest quality to breast milk. Moreover, because your baby is in the early stage of adaptation, his child's digestive problems in this stage will gradually improve.

Parents who are interested in the nutritional criteria for their babies or the ingredients in formula milk can refer to the article: A good formula for the digestive system with parents to help children develop maximum during the natural adaptation period. .

When your child reaches the age of weaning, the mother should pay attention to feeding the baby many foods good for the brain such as eggs, butter, salmon, green vegetables ... These foods contain a lot of DHA, vitamins and essential minerals. for comprehensive brain development in children.

With a good nutrition, you will help your children show their intelligence, wobbly in the first 1000 days of life such as the ability to absorb the surrounding world, sound reflexes, language, and recording ability. remember, develop vision ...

Science has shown that brain development of young children is largely determined in the first 1000 days of life and if you miss this stage, no matter how much effort you make, it cannot compensate. Therefore, to create a foundation for a child's healthy development and success in the future, parents need to pay attention to their child's brain development by providing their children with the best nutrients in the future. The first 1000 days of my life.