Are you finding that most people you interact with do not yet have a clear understanding of the impact the early years have on developing brains? Connecting with people like you to support making optimal connections in the brains of children for well-being in life, is why Brain Insights was created.

With brain maturity being slower than most people realize and not completing development until the mid to late twenties, it is essential to all of us, that we help create the awareness that the greatest time of development occurs in the years prior to kindergarten, with the most robust growth taking place in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.

Why We Share 

By age three, a significant amount of the core structures of the brain are formed. And research shows that this rapid development happens at the amazing rate of more than 1 million connections per second, and this essential time in brain development is dependent on experiences…. And for healthy development, of course it is particularly dependent on nurturing experiences.  

Certainly prenatal influences are significant to healthy brain development. However, because the immature brain is also drastically dependent on after-birth experiences for growth and development, we are fortunate in three ways.

• One, this provides us with the opportunity to provide babies and children with the most optimal experiences for well-being in life.

• And two, scientific brain research provides us with invaluable knowledge as to the types of life experiences that are most needed.

• Three, it is wonderful that the basic instincts to nurture and make a baby feel secure, protected and loved are the primary needs of the developing infant brain. It is the responsive nurturing that directly contributes to the child being the beautiful authentic person they are born to be and prevents their stress response system becoming over developed.

We Believe That it Makes the Most Sense to Develop Brains Well in the First Place

The brain grows in a sequential fashion, from the least complex functioning “survival areas,” to the most complex “thinking areas.” Though the most complex areas are the last to complete development, experiences in the early months and years of a child’s life have an extremely important impact on the way these most essential brain areas make necessary connections.

The highest functioning area is the pre-frontal cortex. When this area is well developed due to optimal experiences, it leads to the brain working in an integrated way for being better able to:

• self-regulate
• anticipate consequences
• plan
• control impulses
• delay gratification
• to problem solve
• see things from the perspective of another person
• to empathize 

To develop the optimal functioning brain of brain areas working together, secure, responsive, timely, respectful and predictably nurturing relationships are crucial from birth. 

Humans are biologically dependent on relationships... and in the first 60 days relationships have been found to have an especially significant influence. 

When the brain feels a consistent sense of trust and security, it is then able to relax and is ready to learn. This security is imperative to establish right from birth for creating a secure attachment, preparing the brain for learning, physical and mental health, cultivating relationships with others and establishing self-worth. 

Beginning with a newborn, it is vital that physical and security needs are met and nurturing interaction is consistently provided every day. 

This is why we are so proud to have created, The First 60 Days Booklet 

In this way we are very excited to support you in influencing children!