“You can witness a magical dance taking place between babies as young as 6 weeks of age and their caregivers – exchanges that resemble conversations in the back-and-forth of timing and sequencing of the sounds, gestures, and facial expressions. It almost looks as if the baby is wooing the adult. These “conversations” are a significant […]
Why Babies? Why Now?
Why Babies? Why Now? Unlike other organs, the brain is not fully formed at birth. In infancy, the brain we rely on for success in school and life is still developing. The human brain grows to 85% of its adult capacity between conception and age 3. The experiences we have, from conception to age three, […]
News Roundup July 11th
Breast-Feeding Is Good for Brain Development Magnetic resonance imaging of infants’ brains shows that breastfeeding leads to increased development in the white matter regions of the brain. The white matter regions of the brain are associated with social emotional development, motor ability and language development. Three groups of infants matched for a variety of factors […]
NAEYC’s 2013 National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development
NAEYC’s 2013 National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development will be held in San Francisco June 9-12th. This year’s theme is “Developmentally Appropriate Practice: The Next Era”. Will you attend? It’s not too late to register. We’d love to see you there. J. Ronald Lally and Peter Mangione are presenting a featured session on Tuesday, […]
News Roundup April 5th
Screen Time Vs. Social Interaction In ECE PolicyMatters, Susan Ochshorn writes about how new technology may affect human development. Beginning in infancy, children’s interactions with caregivers encourage intellectual, social and emotional growth. The parent infant relationship helps the infant build trust and encourages the child’s desire to engage in the world. But what happens if […]
Beating Birth Defects Before Pregnancy
Preconception health is critical to women who may become pregnant. It’s during the earliest months of pregnancy, often before a woman realizes she is pregnant, that unhealthy habits may cause birth defects in babies. In a one minute podcast from the HHS HealthBeat, Ira Dreyfuss shares the importance of healthy living for women of childbearing […]