3.2 Caring through everyday experiences
Early brain development is shaped by the minute-by-minute, day-by-day sensory input: the seeing, tasting, touching and being touched, the sounds and smells of daily life. Much of this happens through daily care routines. Different parts of a baby’s brain register sensations and other parts organize this sensory input into patterns.
Sensory information shapes how we relate to the world, to familiar and new experiences. As the brain develops into the preschool years, sensations and perceptions connect to higher cortical centres of the brain that are responsible for creating symbols, paying attention and planning.
Drs. Stanley Greenspan and Stuart Shanker (2004) propose six basic stages of emotional and brain development that underlie our capacity to make sense of the world. In their book, The First Idea, they trace the transformation of simple reflexive behaviour at birth to symbolic thinking, language and culture. They emphasize the importance of the “steady drip of daily life” in shaping early brain development.
Consider this…. In many parts of the world, massage, a soothing and highly sensory experience, is a valued part of nurturing infant care. In the description below, consider all of the wonderful sensations, interactions and even later developmental benefits when caregivers regularly massage their very young infants.
“Oil massage continues as a very strong tradition in all the villages. This is usually done by the mother or another female relative who has children herself. Massage is performed daily (usually once and sometimes twice) after birth until the baby is two months, using warm mustard oil with juano (a herb). Massage continues until children are about four years old, but on a less regular basis – often after bathing. Oil massage is believed to make children strong and to protect them from cold. These beliefs are well supported by a South Indian study which demonstrated that low-birthweight babies who received massage showed a remarkable gain in their weight and on a battery of developmental tests over a six month period. The study demonstrated a clear effect of mother-chid interactions on both physical and psycho-social outcomes” (Arnold et al., 2000, p. 69).
Sensitivity and responsiveness
Research indicates that sensitivity and responsiveness are key characteristics of caregiving that positively influence a child’s development – in the short term and in the long term (National Scientific Council, 2004).
Sensitivity includes being able to imagine how the baby is feeling and how things appear from his/her perspective. It is interesting to note that the baby has a role to play. For example, a baby with immature neurophysiological systems may be harder to “read”.
Responsiveness is when the caregiver can act on the baby’s cues and provide an appropriate response. There is evidence that babies who are responded to promptly and appropriately show a variety of positive outcomes, such as less frequent crying and more interest in exploring their environment (WHO, 2004).
Listen now as Dr. Megan Gunnar, professor and former director of the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota, explains the difference between sensitivity and responsiveness and why caregivers need to try to find the right balance. She refers to the concept of “serve and return” interaction that was introduced on the page on Nurturing (p. 2.3 in this module).
As you watch the following scene of a mother and young son watch for examples of sensitivity and responsiveness as well as examples of serve and return interactions.
In what ways is the mother being sensitive? Responsive?
Did you notice the back and forth “serve and return” interactions?
Gunnar describes it can be hard for parents to get it “just right”. Can you think of some examples, either from your own experience as a parent or from observation, when it has been “just right” and also when the parent has been overly intrusive or ‘what Gunnar calls ‘hovering’?
Understanding children and responding appropriately is key to the kind of responsive care that nourishes early brain development. Although children are “wired” to interact with others from birth, young children’s social signals are not always obvious, especially when they are pre-verbal.
At the foundation of responsive caregiving (e.g., by parents and early childhood educators), is an affective-emotional approach that includes high levels of warmth, nurturing behaviour and positive affection. Importantly, these responses are contingently associated to the child’s cues and signals and recognition of a child’s unique character. Understanding child development, and being able to recognize your child’s signals and cues is central to positive responsive caregiving.
Watch these interactions between seven-month-old Lucy and her Dad.
In the first scene, how does Lucy communicate she is not that interested in playing right now? In the second scene, how does Lucy communicate what she wants?
How does her father show he is attuned to her signals in the second scene?
How is this experience-based brain development?
The next video is from Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child. It explains and shows examples of five steps caregivers can use for serve and return interactions with young children.
Understanding development
Becoming a skilled observer is key to understanding a child’s perspective and noticing the day-to-day wonder of development. Children experience the world differently. They see with fresh eyes and experience the world on their own terms. Children are individuals, but knowing about what to expect at different ages is helpful to parents, early childhood educators, teachers and anyone involved in supporting early child development.
The following website from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention gives a sense of what to expect of children at different ages.
In the following reading, based on conversations with parents in Nepal, the universal nature of development is reinforced through their observations and descriptions of their children’s development.
Understanding and warmly responding to the child’s cue, either positive or negative, is important in supporting and guiding their development. However, sometimes caregivers may feel overwhelmed with what they consider negative behavior. In the next clip, Dr. Joan Durrant, associate professor of Family Social Sciences at the University of Manitoba, explains how parents can view their child’s negative behaviour from a different perspective if they have some understanding of the development of emotional behavior and what that behavior means in terms of how their child is growing and changing.
High quality early childhood programs for children are based on:
- a sound knowledge and appreciation of child development theories and principles; and
- a deep and respectful appreciation for the interests and qualities of the particular children in their care.
Careful observation of children is a key way to ensure these components are in place.
The Zero to Three website uses research about how the brain develops to provide parents, child care providers and paediatric and family clinicians with practical suggestions of how to support children’s development.
The Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development has extensive resources, including summaries of the latest research in many areas of child development. It is referenced several times within the Science of ECD.
