Play is the brain’s favourite way of learning

A baby’s brain cells make 700 to 1 000 new connections every second

Too often we are made to believe that our biology (DNA) determines our destiny in life. The good news is that our destiny is also determined by the way we nurture and stimulate the development of the human brain from conception.

The brain thrives on experiences that establish new neural connections and pathways, and play is a perfect way to provide these experiences for infants and young children, particularly as play influences and advances exploration, thinking, problemsolving and language expression.

Attentive and nurturing caregiving including interactive play helps a child develop the skills needed to learn. As children learn through play they are literally building their brains. That is why they need concrete experiences and early stimulation to make sense of the world around them.

Babies’ brains develop in response to what goes on around them — good and bad — with long-lasting consequences. A three-year-old’s brain is twice as active as an adult’s, and needs a variety of stimulating activities for her development and learning.

Many scientists and child development specialists indicate that as much as evidence shows that play is essential for brain development, there is also evidence emerging that play deprivation (i.e. absence of stimulation) adversely affects brain growth.

This is worsened by other critical factors such as lack of adequate nutrition, the absence of a responsive, nurturing relationship and toxic stress (physical and emotional abuse, chronic neglect and the accumulated effects of poverty).

The answer is simple — adequate nutrition, responsive caregiving and nurturing and active age appropriate stimulation through play can positively influence a young child’s genetic predispositions and alter the brain’s architecture for life.