Fertile Minds - extra credit

Laura Garner
Ed Psych
Dr. Suzy Cox
December 7th, 2008
FERTILE MINDS
By J. MADELEINE NASH

What a great article! With the advances in modern science and technology it is now possible to document what many parents have known all along – that babies come with a unique set of traits that are inborn, that the first few years are so important to development and that loving care, touching, talking to infants, etc. is important and makes a difference in how children develop! As a mother of 5 children, two of whom are adopted, I can attest that children come with a distinct personality as well as physical traits that are inherited from their birth parents.

Now that there is hard physical evidence that brain activity starts as early as 3 week into gestation, it would seem that emphasis should be on training parents and future parents to be able to meet the needs of their infants before and after birth and through the early years of development. For example, the article points out that research show that children who don't play much or are rarely touched develop brains 20% to 30% smaller than normal for their age. (Baylor College of Medicine) and rats raised in a stimulating environment contain as many as 25% more synapses per neuron (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). It also gives evidence of the damage of early emotional and physical abuse. Teaching good parenting skills during the junior high and high school years would strengthen future families and save monetary cost for the government as there would be fewer damaged children. Also, the effects of good nutrition on a developing fetus should be taught as well.
For educators, this article also shows evidence of the importance of understanding the workings of the brains and gearing education to make the most of the windows of opportunity. The article talks about how the window for acquiring syntax may close as early as five or six years of age, the ability to learn a second language is highest between birth and the age of six, and the brain's greatest growth spurt draws to a close around the age of 10’. Realizing that, parents and preschool and elementary teachers should make learning as stimulating and challenging as possible to make use of this unique time when the brain is working to its peak. ‘Rich experiences …. really do produce rich brains.’
I agree with the author that early remedial education would be effective. I also agree that day care should be high quality but would emphasis strengthening the economy so that parents who have the desire to stay home with their children could afford to do so and not put their children’s upbringing into the hands of strangers. No one loves a child like the parents and parents who have had the training to be effective caregivers are the best people to raise children.