c:\msworks\esteem3\handouts\1styrs.rtf (10/16/97 rev. 6/17/99; 11/3/01 add ft note)

11/3/01 12B

EXCERPTS FROM: I AM YOU CHILD. THE FIRST YEARS LAST FOREVER

(COMMENT: This information is so important that if a significant number of people learn and practice it, human destiny will be changed for its betterment forever, in ways not yet perceived. Billy Deane Lilly)

(Note: some of the following is paraphrased to shorten and save space.)

A mothers loving gaze, a fathers gentle talk, a caregivers song while administering the baby's daily tasks provide essential nourishment.

"Just as their bodies need food to grow, science now tells us that the positive emotional, physical, and intellectual experiences that a baby has in the earliest years are equally necessary for the growth of a healthy brain"

"At birth, the infants brain has 100 billion nerve cells, or neurons. These neurons will grow and connect with other neurons in system that various functions like seeing, moving, and expressing emotion. These systems, activated by repeated experiences, provide the foundation for the brain's organization and functioning throughout life. The absence of appropriate activation results in the lack of development or the disappearance of these connections."

"The brain is the part of the body that allows us to feel joy or despair, to respond to others in a loving or angry way, to use reason or simply react. These capacities don't just magically appear - they result from the interplay between a child's heredity and the experiences he or she has during childhood."

"Why should parents and caregivers know about brain development ?"

"At birth, the brain is remarkably unfinished. The parts of the brain that handle thinking, as well as emotional and social behavior, are very underdeveloped. The fact that the brain matures in the world, rather than in the womb, means that young children are deeply affected by their early experiences. Their relationships with parents and other important caregivers, the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings they experience, the challenges they meet - these don't just influence their moods. These experiences actually affect the way children's brains become "wired".

In other words, early experiences help to determine brain structure, thus shaping the way people learn, think, and behave for the rest of their lives.

Principles of Brain Development

· The outside world shapes the brain's wiring.

· The outside world is experienced through the senses - seeing, hearing, smelling,

touching, and tasting - enabling the brain to create or modify connections.

· The brain operated on a "use it or lose it" principle.

· Relationships with other people early in life are the major source of development

of the emotional and social parts of the brain.

How can parents and caregivers make a difference ?

Families and caregivers have always known they are important. This new research shows that early attachments have a vital influence on the brain development and that everyone who cares for young children, family, friends, teachers, child care providers - can make a difference.

Essential to all efforts is a child's basic health and safety. They need to be well-nourished (with breast milk at first, if possible), and have regular check-ups and timely immunizations. Consulting a doctor or nurse when children are ill, and the places where they spend time need to be safe and "child-proofed"; secure in a car seat when riding in a car.

"Research in brain development and school readiness suggests the following ten guideline that can help parents and other caregivers raise healthy, happy children and confident, competent learners:

Promoting Young Children's Healthy Development and

School Readiness: Ten Guidelines

· Be warm, loving and responsive

· Respond to the child's cues and clues

· Talk, read, and sing to your child

· Establish routines and rituals

· Encourage safe exploration and play

· Make TV watching selective

· Use discipline as an opportunity to teach

· Recognize that each child is unique

· Choose quality child care and stay involved

· Take Care of yourself

The booklet covers each of the 10 guidelines in some detail.

The new brain research informs us of the vital importance of the relationship between caregiver and child in the first years, and affords us a wonderful opportunity to enrich the lives of our children and help them realize their full potential.

These are excerpts by Billy Deane Lilly from the booklet "I am your Child*, The First Years Last Forever".

"The New Brain Research and Your Child's healthy Development." Credits: Families and Work Institute; Ad Council. Made possible by the generous support from AT&T.

* I AM YOUR CHILD is a national public awareness and engagement campaign, created by the Reiner Foundation to help people understand the importance of new brain research and its implications for our children's lifelong healthy development. 1010 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20007; http://www.iamyourchild.org