Brain development in children. How can educators, caregivers, providers and family members support our children's development. Learn how we develop character, how our brains respond to experiences.

1. Shaping Brains
Building Character
Caring for our babies prenatal onward
Shaping brains through experience and relationships
Lindsay AP Dickinson, BS

2. Character building
begins in our infancy
and continues until
death
~Eleanor Roosevelt
IS IT POSSIBLE TO SPOIL A BABY....?

3. Temperment TraitActivity level
Biological rhythms
Approach/Withdrawal
Mood
Intensity of reaction
Sensitivity
Adaptability
Distractibility
Persistence
Temperment Types
Flexible (Easy)
+ Regular rhythms
+ Positive mood
+ Adaptability
+ Low intensity
+ Low sensitivity
Fearful (Slow-to-warm -up)
+ Adapt slowly
+ Withdraw
Feisty (Difficult)
+ Active Intense
+ Distractible
+ Sensitive
+ Irregular &Moody

4. Experiences & Relationships
 What are Experiences?
 How do Experiences impact
Relationships?
 How do the two help the
brain grow?
 HOW OUR BRAINS GROW
THROUGH EXPERIENCES

5. Action generates memory,
memory generates desire and
desire generates action again
~Deepak Chopra

6. How We Shape Our Children's Brains
 Experiences and relationships in the first three years of life literally
shape the brain and lay the foundation for all future learning and
development
 The Amazing Brains of Babies
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltyXTfwG_78
 Neurons – Experience Expectant & Experience Dependent
 What is Fast Mapping
 5 Min Break

7. How do Experiences impact Relationships?
 What is relationship?
 Serve & Return
 How do our experiences impact our relationships with our babies in our lives?
 Need to survive & thrive – Discussion
 Cry it out
 Spoiling a baby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVGvCaiy7zg
https://vimeo.com/99851077
 Ignoring the call to action

8. Experiences and the Brain
 Experiences and relationships in the first three years of life literally shape
the brain and lay the foundation for all future learning and development
 A baby’s brain organizes each experience daily. As we organize cell phone
apps, babies take their information received and place it into files
 What ever is used most, becomes their “most recent” or “favorite” in the
Experiences. This is for anything negative or positive
 Pruning nightly

9. VIDEO & ACTIVITY
 https://vimeo.com/103169425 Video: Brain Development
 A child’s brain undergoes an amazing period of development from birth to three—producing
more than a million neural connections each second (Video provided by www.ZerotoThree.org )
 Anxiety, Fear and Toxic Stress
 Ball of yarn (Prunning)

10. Stages for a developing baby into our world
Prenatal Care
Environment
for new baby
Experiences
Relationships
Whole Child
Development