Although reading and writing are fundamental skills taught early in child education, brain development begins long before the school years. Research now supports the development of motor control through movement activities that promote specific neural changes in the brain that can facilitate improved learning adaptations. Promoting your child to move from birth to their school years can prove beneficial for their success in academics.
We are all born with a set circuitry, or wiring, of the brain that is provided via genetics. A factory like given brain is much like an untrained body that has no muscle tone, shape, strength or power, but it still has the capability to be or do anything with training. It appears now that we can stimulate our brain and develop our neural circuitry through our movement experiences. Movement appears to have its greatest influence while in the womb and tapers as we age, with much of the influence being confined to under the age of 9 years.
The early development of movement that strengthens the neural circuitry in the brain has show to improve a childs’ cognitive ability. “Children who participated in an exercise program, compared to those who did not exercise, improved on both the IQ test and the social scale.” (1) Furthermore, depending on the type of physical activity trained “movement training interventions resulted in gains in children’s intelligence and academic achievement.” (1)
The stimulation and development of your childs’ brain can easily be incorporated through play. There are phases of motor development that dictate the types of movement activities so here’s a basic order that you can introduce to your child as he/she ages and advances. Reaching, rolling, crawling, standing, walking, running, jumping, striking, kicking and catching.
Movement training, or exercise, is simple, yet powerful in influence, especially when introduced during the early years.
- Educ Psychol Rev. Jun 1, 2008; 20(2): 111–131.
- http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=360