HOW WE LEARN TO READ
Interactions and Experiences That Stimulate Brain Development
Brain development occurs around the clock, when babies are with their parents and when they are cared for by others. Every important caregiver — relative, neighbor, childcare provider — has an impact on the baby's brain development. As babies respond to these actions, their brains develop connections. Touch is particularly important to babies' development. Holding and stroking a baby stimulates the brain to release the hormones that allow for growth. Each time the baby experiences new things to look at, hear, taste, smell, touch, and feel, new connections are formed.
Shortly after birth, a baby's brain produces trillions more connections between neurons than it can possibly use. By age three, the child's brain has formed 1,000 trillion connections--twice as many as in an adult brain. Beginning at about age 10, the child's brain begins getting rid of the extra connections and gradually creates a more powerful and efficient circuitry. The brain permanently retains the connections that are used repeatedly in the early years and eliminates connections that are seldom or never used. For example, children who are seldom spoken to or read to in the early years tend to have difficulty mastering language skills because their brains eliminate the unused connections used for this type of learning.
Source: On the Road to Reading, U.S. Department
of Education
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