At birth, most of the brain’s 100 billion neurons are not yet interconnected. Some neurons have been assigned to specific autonomic, life-sustaining functions (e.g., heart beat and breathing); but most have not yet been given a task and are inactive. These neurons now wait for the newborn to begin having sensory experiences – seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, feeling – which will stimulate the neurons to form trillions of synapses, as well as establish neural communication pathways.

The first three years of life are a period of fast growth in the human brain. A three-year-old’s brain is twice as active as an adult’s! Ways to enrich a toddler’s brain and stimulate synaptic connections include: having back-and-forth, loving conversations; singing; reading to her; playing. Interactions with other humans, of any age, are a better method of stimulating a child’s brain than watching television!

Educators rely on the young brain’s plasticity – its ability to be molded by experiences – to teach school-age children. Repeating learned information, such as the spelling of words or multiplication tables, will form synaptic connections that will preserve those memories for life. Synaptogenesis, the formation of connections between synapses that started in the womb, continues throughout childhood and into adulthood. This infographic from Parenting Journals has some amazing facts about the human brain and its development from conception onwards.