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It's normal for some of our thinking skills to decline slightly as we grow older - including speed of thinking, some types of memory and manipulating new information - while others stay stable or increase, for example wisdom and vocabulary.

But either side of the 'norm', we vary widely in the extent and rate of change. In other words, some people may do better in their thinking skills than the norm and others may decline more or faster.

The extent and rate of decline as we age is affected by both genetic influences (what we were born with) and 'environmental' influences, i.e. what we encounter or are exposed to during our lives. This includes life experiences such as education, health, lifestyle choices, attitude and emotions, and a range of other factors.

The Disconnected Mind project team studies the relative contribution of genetic and environmental influences to change in cognitive function as we age.

They discovered that approximately 24% of the extent of change between childhood and older age (age 70) is due to genetic influences. This means that environmental influences make a larger contribution, at approximately 76%.

Where these are things we can control or alter (e.g. the choice to smoke or not; decisions we make about diet), we can make changes to help protect our cognitive health as we age.

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Do genes influence thinking skills? | Age UK

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Genes are responsible for many things, including obvious physical traits like eye and hair colour. They also influence our thinking skills.

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Cognitive Development: An Overview

Cognitive development is a process by which human beings begin to acquire, process, retain, and use knowledge.

Cognition includes vital skills like thinking, remembering, processing, decision making, and problem-solving.

Cognitive development starts while in the womb and continues well into adulthood.

Jean Piaget is one of the earliest influencers who researched cognitive development.

According to him, there are four stages of cognitive development.

1. Sensorimotor stage - birth to 2 years of age

2. Preoperational stage - 2 to 7 years of age

3. Concrete operational stage - 7 to 11 years of age

4. Formal operational stage - 12 to adulthood

Cognitive skills help individuals understand the relationship between ideas, understand cause and effect, process information analytically, and make the right decisions at the right time.

Learn more about how genes affect your personality and behavioral traits

Cognition: Nature vs. Nurture
How is cognitive development built? Is it genetically inherited or learned with practice?
Recent studies show that 50 to 70% of variations in cognition could be due to genetic changes.

This means that as soon as a person is born, a major part of their cognitive abilities could be pre-decided.

This completely changes the game for social programs and educational processes to increase children's Intelligence Quotient.

So does social factors have no role to play in cognitive development? Yes, say researchers.

While genes influence children's cognitive abilities, their socio-economic background, environmental factors, and access to opportunities majorly determine whether they reach their cognitive potential.

For example, consider two children with similar genetic makeup.

Child A is economically superior, while child B comes from a low socio-economic background.

Child A may still show higher cognitive development because a better socio-economic background opens more avenues and gives them better opportunities to use resources, learn and train.

A 2013 study on genetic influences on cognition states that the influence of genes on cognitive ability is increased when the learning experiences are better.

This means that while nature plays a bigger role in determining a person's cognitive development, one cannot ignore the role of the environment and experiences.

Also, other external factors like nutrition and stress levels may affect the ability of a person to achieve their cognitive potential-more about this in the coming sections.

How Does Genetics Affect Cognitive Development?

Cognitive skills like thinking, reasoning, processing and decision-making use different brain functions controlled by multiple genes in the body.

A 2018 study reported that about 709 previously identified genes, along with 148 newly identified genes, together may be associated with cognitive development.

There are also seven sets of genes identified that regulate the below functions.

1. Neurogenesis (production of new neurons in the brain)

2. Controlling the nervous system development

3. Neuron projection

4. Neuron differentiation

5. Regulation of the nervous system

6. Regulation of cell development

7. Go dendrite (structures that receive communication from other cells)

Changes in these gene sets may affect different brain functionalities, including cognitive function.

Tips to Improve Cognitive Health

Due to several reasons, many people don't reach their genetic potential for cognitive development. Here are tips to improve cognitive health.

Nutritional Changes

1. According to experts, a low glycemic index diet may help improve cognitive capacities, including thinking, remembering, and attentiveness. Simple sugars, on the other hand, may cause declined cognitive development.

2. A diet that contains a 5:1 ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids may promote better cognitive capacity.

3. Amino acids are needed for the proper functioning of neurotransmitters in the brain.

4. Oxidative stress may lead to cognitive deterioration. Foods rich in antioxidants help prevent this.

Control Stress Levels

A person's mental health affects brain health, and studies say this starts even before the person is born. For instance, high levels of stress in mothers during gestation may affect the brain development of the fetus, and this may cause changes in cognitive development.

Work on controlling stress levels with mindfulness practices.

Practice Cognitive Stimulating Activities

While there is no solid evidence that cognitive-stimulating activities help improve cognitive function, experts suggest that these activities may help slow down the cognitive decline in adults.

Brain teasers and brain games can be used to delay conditions like dementia and improve brain health.

Be Socially Connected

A very important study that connected social behavior and cognitive impairment was the Experience Corps trial.

In this trial, 702 individuals aged 60 or older were given an opportunity to get involved in volunteering activities.

The study showed that people who experienced social connectedness because of volunteering had a significant increase in hippocampal volume.

Larger hippocampal volume points to better cognitive development.

Social enrichment also plays a role in improving cognitive development in infants.

Studies show that a stimulating social environment, increased parental involvement, and engaging play activities can benefit cognitive development in infants as less as six months of age.

Summary

1. Cognitive development is how humans acquire, retain, and process knowledge. Cognitive development helps people process information correctly and make the right decisions.

2. According to recent studies, 50-70% of cognitive development could be influenced by genetic makeup. Other external factors may help the person reach their genetic potential of cognition.

3. There could be up to 850 genes that are associated with cognitive development. Changes in any of these genes could affect brain functionalities and cognitive abilities.

4. The right nutrition may help improve cognitive capacities in humans. A diet rich in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, amino acids, and vitamins could benefit brain health.

5. Stress could cause cognitive decline in adults. Practicing cognitive-stimulating activities can help delay conditions like dementia.

6. Social connectedness and a stimulating environment are associated with improved cognitive capabilities in children and adults.

References:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-018-0277-0 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4006996/ https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1708491114 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131001141218.htm https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6787147/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34635149/

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Recent studies show that 50 to 70% of variations in cognition could be due to genetic changes. How is cognitive development related to genes?

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What determines how a child develops? While it is impossible to account for each and every influence that contributes to who a child eventually becomes, today, most researchers view development as a combination of both a child's heredity and environment.

This involves considering factors such as genetics, parenting, experiences, friends, family, education, and relationships. By understanding the role that these factors play, researchers are better able to identify how such influences contribute to child development.

Think of these influences as building blocks. While most people tend to have the same basic building blocks, these components can be put together in an infinite number of ways. Consider your own overall personality. How much of who you are today was shaped by your genetic background and how much is a result of your lifetime of experiences?

This question has puzzled philosophers, psychologists, and educators for hundreds of years and is frequently referred to as the nature versus nurture debate. Are we the result of nature (our genetic background) or nurture (our environment)? Today, most researchers agree that child development involves a complex interaction of both nature and nurture.﻿﻿

Nature vs. Nurture

While some aspects of development may be strongly influenced by biology, environmental influences may also play a role. For example, the timing of when the onset of puberty occurs is largely the result of heredity, but environmental factors such as nutrition can also have an effect.

From the earliest moments of life, the interaction of heredity and the environment works to shape who children are and who they will become. While the genetic instructions a child inherits from their parents may set out a road map for development, the environment can impact how these directions are expressed, shaped, or even silenced.

The complex interaction of nature and nurture does not just occur at certain moments or at certain periods of time; it is persistent and lifelong.

In order to understand child development, it is important to look at the biological influences that help shape child development, how experiences interact with genetics, and some of the genetic disorders that can have an impact on child psychology and development.

Prenatal Child Development

At its very beginning, the development of a child starts when the male reproductive cell, or sperm, penetrates the protective outer membrane of the female reproductive cell, or ovum. The sperm and ovum each contain chromosomes that act as a blueprint for human life.

The genes contained in these chromosomes are made up of a chemical structure known as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) that contains the genetic code, or instructions, that make up all life. Except for the sperm and ova, all cells in the body contain 46 chromosomes.

As you might guess, the sperm and ova each contain only contain 23 chromosomes. This ensures that when the two cells meet, the resulting new organism has the correct 46 chromosomes.

Environmental Influences

So how exactly do the genetic instructions passed down from both parents influence how a child develops and the traits they will have? In order to fully understand this, it is important to first distinguish between a child's genetic inheritance and the actual expression of those genes.

A genotype refers to all of the genes that a person has inherited. A phenotype is how these genes are actually expressed. The phenotype can include physical traits, such as height and color of the eyes, as well as nonphysical traits such as shyness and extroversion.

While your genotype may represent a blueprint for how children grow up, the way that these building blocks are put together determines how these genes will be expressed. Think of it as a bit like building a house. The same blueprint can result in a range of different homes that look quite similar but have important differences based on the material and color choices used during construction.

Gene Expression

Whether or not a gene is expressed depends on two different things: the interaction of the gene with other genes and the continual interaction between the genotype and the environment.

Genetic Interactions: Genes can sometimes contain conflicting information, and in most cases, one gene will win the battle for dominance. Some genes act in an additive way. For example, if a child has one tall parent and one short parent, the child may end up splitting the difference by being of average height. In other cases, some genes follow a dominant-recessive pattern. Eye color is one example of dominant-recessive genes at work. The gene for brown eyes is dominant and the gene for blue eyes is recessive. If one parent hands down a dominant brown eye gene while the other parent hands down a recessive blue eye gene, the dominant gene will win out and the child will have brown eyes.

Gene-Environment Interactions: The environment a child is exposed to both in utero and throughout the rest of his or her life can also impact how genes are expressed. For example, exposure to harmful drugs while in utero can have a dramatic impact on later child development. Height is a good example of a genetic trait that can be influenced by environmental factors.﻿﻿ While a child's genetic code may provide instructions for tallness, the expression of this height might be suppressed if the child has poor nutrition or chronic illness.

Genetic Abnormalities

Genetic instructions are not infallible and can go off track at times. Sometimes when a sperm or ovum is formed, the number of chromosomes may divide unevenly, causing the organism to have more or less than the normal 23 chromosomes. When one of these abnormal cells joins with a normal cell, the resulting zygote will have an uneven number of chromosomes.

Researchers suggest that as many as half of all zygotes that form have more or less than 23 chromosomes, but most of these are spontaneously aborted and never develop into a full-term baby.

In some cases, babies are born with an abnormal number of chromosomes. In every case, the result is some type of syndrome with a set of distinguishing characteristics.

Sex Chromosome Abnormalities

The vast majority of newborns, both boys and girls, have at least one X chromosome. In some cases, about 1 in every 500 births, children are born with either a missing X chromosome or an additional sex chromosome. Klinefelter syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, and Turner syndrome are all examples of abnormalities involving the sex chromosomes.

Kleinfelter's syndrome is caused by an extra X chromosome and is characterized by a lack of development of secondary sex characteristics, as well as learning disabilities.

Fragile X syndrome is caused when part of the X chromosome is attached to the other chromosomes by such a thin string of molecules that it seems in danger of breaking off. It can affect both males and females, but the impact can vary. Some with Fragile X show few if any signs, while others develop mild to severe intellectual disability.

Turner syndrome occurs when only one sex chromosome (the X chromosome) is present. It affects only females and can result in short stature, a "webbed" neck, and a lack of secondary sex characteristics. Psychological impairments associated with Turner syndrome include learning disabilities and difficulty recognizing emotions conveyed through facial expressions.

Down Syndrome

The most common type of chromosomal disorder is known as trisomy 21, or Down syndrome. In this case, the child has three chromosomes at the site of the 21st chromosome instead of the normal two.

Down syndrome is characterized by facial characteristics including a round face, slanted eyes, and a thick tongue. Individuals with Down syndrome may also face other physical problems including heart defects and hearing problems. Nearly all individuals with Down syndrome experience some type of intellectual impairment, but the exact severity can vary dramatically.

A Word From Verywell

Clearly, genetic influences have an enormous influence on how a child develops. However, it is important to remember that genetics is just one piece of the intricate puzzle that makes up a child's life. Environmental variables including parenting, culture, education, and social relationships also play a vital role.

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Genetics Are Just One Part of How Children Develop

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Today, most researchers view development as a combination of heredity and environment. Learn how genetics influence child development and interplay with environment.

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Frontiers | Genetics and Learning: How the Genes Influence Educational Attainment

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The brain is the organ of thought. The word thought is defined as the act of thinking about or considering something: an idea or opinion, or a set of ideas a…

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How Does the Environment Affect a Child's Brain Development?

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Environmental factors that affect child development are not independent of individual factors like family and mental capacity. But how do you identify them so you can ensure an enabling environment for your child? That's what we will discuss in this blog.

We have looked into tons of research on this topic, and we will quote them for you so you can look them up yourself. When it comes to children, following expert advice and scientific methods is the best option as we really can't afford to take risks in this regard.

So let's start right from the bottom. What is child development?

What is Child Development

According to Wikipedia,

"Child development involves the biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence."

Do you want to enrol in a child psychology and development course?

Is this child developing as expected?

This is a question that parents, paediatricians, educators, and caregivers routinely ask as their children grow and change.

Child development specialists have designed a variety of charts and checklists to assist you in keeping track of your child's growth. They are almost always intertwined with factors that influence a child's development. But, because children develop at their own rate, it's hard to predict when they'll learn a specific skill. However, experts agree upon a list of several major categories that are common to every model of child development that researchers have embarked upon. These are:

Physical growth refers to a child's physical development and stature in general.

Cognitive growth refers to a child's mental development.

Linguistic growth refers to a child's language development and linguistic preferences.

Social-emotional growth refers to the gradual, integrated process in which children develop the ability to comprehend, experience, express, and manage emotions. It also refers to their ability to form meaningful relationships with others.

However, you probably have guessed by now that a 15-year old's cognitive development will be miles apart from that of a 15-month-old. To answer that, your guess is absolutely correct. This is why, to help monitor a child, child development is separated into stages based on their age. These are:

Birth to 18 months is then divided into five distinct sub-stages.

18 months to 2 years is divided into two distinct sub-stages.

3 to 5 years is divided into three distinct sub-stages.

This is divided into four distinct sub-stages.

Naturally, the question that arises here is how do these stages help monitor a child's development? Based on research, some standards have been designed. These standards describe the typical behaviour of children against each stage of their development. Think of them as sort of like milestones. The developmental milestones provide a basic notion of what to expect as a child grows older.

To give you an example, let's see what the cognitive development may look like for children from birth to 18 months. Note that the source material for this is Healthline.com.

Typical Cognitive Development for children aged 0-18 months

1. Objects and human faces stimulate their interest.

2. It's possible that repetitive activities will bore them.

1. Recognises faces they have seen before.

2. Reacts to displays of love and affection.

3. Notices the sounds of music and respond to it.

1. They raise their hand to their mouth.

2. Switch things around from one hand to the other.

1. Watches objects fall to the ground.

2. Looks for items that are hidden.

1. Has a basic understanding of how to use items such as spoons.

2. Possess the ability to point to specific body parts when you name them out for them.

But, remember, these are rough estimates. Just because a child aged 18 months shows the cognitive aptitude of a 24-month-old does in no way indicate that the child is abnormal. Every child is unique. You are the finest person to know your child as a parent. If your child is not hitting the developmental milestones for his or her age, or if you suspect a problem with your child's development, speak with his or her doctor and express your concerns.

What are Environmental Factors for Child Development

The impact of the environment on a child's development, including the physical setting in which they are raised, cannot be overstated. Individual and environmental factors interact to influence the outcome of talent and performance in children. Hence, we cannot isolate the individual factors altogether from environmental factors when it comes to child development.

Another factor that heavily influences a child's health and development is their early years. Children of all abilities, including those with unique health care needs, can grow up fine in a healthy environment. The phrase "healthy environment" refers to an environment that meets their social, emotional, and educational demands.

It is critical to have a safe and loving environment and to spend time with family playing, singing, reading, and conversing. Nutrition, exercise, and sleep can also have a significant effect.

Environmental Factors That Affect Child Development

How does a child's environment affect their behaviour?

Although individual and environmental factors cannot totally be separated as they are intertwined, there are some factors that can be isolated. For example, gene heredity plays a big role in a child's development. However, it is not as much relevant in the case of the child in question as it is in the case of the child's ancestors.

With that said, what are some environmental factors that influence development? That's what we will discuss next.

Family and Home

The environment in which children grow has a significant impact on their well-being. This typically starts with their family and their home. But, how does the home environment affect child development?

Well, there are multiple underlying variables at play here.

Home Ownership

Home ownership is a factor that benefits communities and their families. Recent research has discovered that it is also linked to the well-being of children. An increasing body of evidence demonstrates that having a family home enhances early cognitive and behavioural development. Living in a home-owning family, for example, is linked to greater educational achievement at age 7.

Others suggest that homeownership benefits last well into adolescence and young adulthood. Children who grow up in their parents' houses are less likely to drop out of high school and become adolescent parents.
(Reference: Jones E, Gutman L, Platt L. Family Stressors and Children's Outcomes. Childhood Wellbeing Research Centre. London: Dept. of Education. 2013.)
Family Structure

Family structure has a strong link to the psychology of children. Growing up with only one parent, in particular, has been linked to a number of unfavourable effects.

Examples of these risks include-
(Reference: Dornbusch SM, et al. Single parents, extended households, and the control of adolescents. Child Development. 1985; 45:326-341.) (Reference: Dawson D. Family Structure and Children's Health: United States, 1988. Data from the National Health Survey No 178. Washington, DC: Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics, US Department of Health and Human Services. 1991.)

Abuse of alcohol and illegal substances
(Reference: Parish TS. Ratings of self and parents by youth: Are they affected by family status, gender, and birth order? Adolescence. 1991; 26:105-112.)

Dangerous sexual behaviour
(Reference: Covey LS, Tam D. Depressive mood, the single- parent home, and adolescent cigarette smoking. American Journal of Public Health. 1990; 80:1330-1333.)

High dropout rate from high school
(Reference: Thornton A, Camburn D. The influence of the family on premarital sexual attitudes and behavior. Demography. 1987; 24:323-340.)
Healthy growth and brain development is possible with an enriching and stimulating home environment. Both 'enriching' and 'stimulating' are heavy terms. So what exactly do they refer to?
(Reference: Astone NM, McLanahan S. Family structure, parental practices, and high school completion. American Sociological Review. 1991; 6:309-320.)
For a child, they refer to love, emotional support, and promoting learning and exploration.

There are generally fewer economic and emotional resources in homes where just one parent is present. After all, only a single person is raising the child, which is a two-person job. Even then, we generally see that many parents struggle with their work-life balance when a child is born. Imagine the pressure when all that struggle is put on the shoulders of a single parent.

Competing pressures at work and at home might make it difficult for a parent to establish a learning and development-friendly environment for their children.

A Positive Home Environment

A positive environment in a house is a factor that is independent of home ownership. Whether you're living at a home that you own or in a rented property, it affects you and your children all the same.

A child's ability to grow, learn, and explore requires a healthy, safe environment. In contrast, a child's intellectual, social, and emotional growth can be harmed by a poor home situation.

According to research, a poor family environment during a child's early years has been related to developmental delays. These include:

Poor linguistic skills

Behavioral issues

A lack of school preparedness

Longer-term consequences have also been related to a child's early home environment. Examples of such outcomes are:

Teen parenting

High school graduation

Employment and earnings as an adult

(Reference: Vernon-Feagans L, Garrett-Peters P, Willoughby M, et al. Chaos, poverty, and parenting: Predictors of early language development. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. 2011; 27:339-351.)

According to brain imaging research, growing up in an impoverished or stressful environment can cause the brain to develop differently. The brains of children react differently to situations connected with family income and other socio-economic factors. These factors relate to social and emotional development, cognitive capacity, learning and memory.
(Reference: Aaronson, D. A note on the benefits of homeownership. Journal of Urban Economics. 2000; 47:356-369.)
Family Poverty

Poverty has a significant impact on a child's development and future outcomes.
(Reference: Hanson JL, Chandra A, Wolfe BL, et al. Association between income and the hippocampus. PLoS ONE. 2011; 6(5):e18712.)
Children from low-income families have less enrichment experiences and learning resources than children from higher-income families. It is more difficult for low-income parents to provide their children with experiences that promote normal brain development.

However, money is only one aspect of the narrative. With economic difficulties comes the stress of often having access to fewer social and emotional resources. Poor and low-income moms, for example, are more prone to experience stress, worry, and depression, all of which can sabotage healthy parenting.

Low-income youngsters therefore hear fewer spoken words that veer towards the positive side. Instead they often experience a higher proportion of negative utterances than their middle-income counterparts.

Living Conditions

Overcrowding is a danger factor in the development of children. But what is considered overcrowding?

At least, for the topic at our hand, more than one person per room is considered overcrowding.

Crowding has been shown to lower the quality of caregiving environments. Even in infancy children can face severe damage to their physical and psychological well being because of overcrowding.

Residential density, which is how many people have their own rooms in their house, has been connected to cognitive, behavioural, and physical health effects. Even if you manage the money and the quality of education, crowding will affect parental habits nonetheless.

Parents, whose families live in close quarters, tend to be-

1. Less sympathetic

2. Less verbally receptive

3. More disciplinative

(Reference: Leventhal T, Newman S. Housing and child development. Children and Youth Service Review. 2010; 32 (9):1165-1174.)
Kinship Care

Kinship care refers to the extra-parental care that infants and kids receive when their parents are unable to take care of them. Most of the time, the grandparents are put in charge of the child. It's an increasing trend in developed countries as the parents of the children are busy with their careers.

Children who receive main care from their grandparents are more likely to have a teen parent, a parent who uses drugs or alcohol, a parent who is in jail, or a parent who has health concerns. Negative life experiences like these frequently lead to the formation of grandparent-headed households.

This is a major cause for concern because family structure has been demonstrated to have a considerable impact on children's well-being, particularly their physical and mental health.

As a result of these risk factors, children in grandparent-headed households are more likely to develop emotional and behavioural challenges.

However, if given a choice, where would you rather live?

or,
(Reference: Murphey D, et al. Children Living with Grandparents: State-Level Data from the American Community Survey. Child Trends Research Brief: Washington, DC. 2012.)

In a family where your parents are in a toxic relationship, taking a huge risk where you yourself will end up raised as a toxic human being,

or,

Under the care of your grandparents

It's a no brainer for the most of us. However, you can also look for an answer in research done under this topic as well.

Grandparents have been found to provide a more stable and caring environment than foster care or other options.

Extra support services can help grandparents prepare for caregiving obligations. It helps them ensure better results for their grandkids. Because of the difficult circumstances from which these families frequently originate, a little help goes a long way.
(Reference: Hayslip B, Kaminski PL. Grandparents raising their grandchildren: A review of the literature and suggestions for practice. The Gerontologist. 2005; 45:262-269.)
Psychological and Educational Factors

Education is a huge factor in child development as it covers all areas of cognitive development from birth onwards. It is a broad term as it covers multiple other aspects at once, such as-

1. There have to be frequent opportunities for play and interaction with other children.

2. Access to books and other learning materials also plays a major role in cognitive development.

3. Children are naturally curious. So they need to be given opportunities to acquire a range of skills and interests.

4. The parent or the guardian of the child also needs to take an interest in the child's educational activities.

As the complexity of our thought process deepens when we're children, our growing sense of self as a separate and valued being also becomes a factor.

So we have to provide them with a positive and encouraging atmosphere to build their identity. Some of the favourable factors in this case are:

1. Presence of positive role models of their own gender and culture whom they can aspire to be.

2. Frequently praises or encouragement.

3. Openness about relationships within the family.

Social Presentation

Children also are affected by how the outside world perceives their appearance and behaviour. Although it's a part of their identity that grows without any outside influence, we do have to take the responsibility to teach them cleanliness, personal hygiene and appropriate dresses that correspond to their age, gender, culture and religion.

Selfcare & the Sense of Responsibility

Another factor that also helps with the process of building an identity is self-care and a sense of responsibility. Teach the children to-

1. Help their parents to do the dishes

2. Dress and feed themselves

3. Clean their own rooms

4. Do their homework on their own and also understand when to take help from parents, teachers and friends

5. Build relationships with other people and understand the boundaries

6. Manage their finances

This will help them develop both practical and emotional competence.

However, each child develops at a different rate. One can paire specific goals with the parental responsibilities to assist the child in achieving them.

Education of the Parents

Education has an impact on parenting knowledge and beliefs, which in turn impacts parenting practices and the quality of home surroundings.

The educational accomplishments of parents have a significant impact on the surroundings that they create for their children. It is a classic predictor of cognitive and behavioural outcomes.

Almost always, our life is linked with the education we receive. The better the education, the better the human we tend to become. Our minds open up, we become more accepting, our tolerance levels skyrocket, and we tend to be analytical of things rather than straight-up judgemental. Every single of these aspects also follows through to our children and they, in turn, adopt some of these behaviours from us. It's now widely known that children that live in abusive conditions tend to be abusive themselves as well.

Higher levels of maternal education have been associated with better outcomes in studies. Some of these outcomes include-

More warmth and responsiveness from parents

Having extra learning tools at home & also, improved school preparation

Better educational and employment outcomes throughout life

Maternal Depression
(Reference: Davis-Kean PE, et al. The influence of parent education and family income on child achievement: The indirect role of parental expectations and the home environment. Journal of Family Psychology. 2005; 19:294-304.)
The most prevalent medical consequence of childbirth is maternal postpartum depression. While most women experience some depressive symptoms in the first week or two after giving birth, 10 to 15% of new moms experience severe depression, which can continue up to 6 months.
(Reference: Magnuson KA, Sexton HR, Davis-Kean PE, et al. Increases in maternal education and young children's language skills. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly. 2009; 55 (3):319-350.)
Question is, is it possible to figure out if someone is suffering from postnatal depression? Some of the most common signs of postnatal depression include:

1. Sleep difficulties

2. Guilt

3. A loss of interest in daily activities

(Reference: Dubow EF, Boxer P, Huesmann LR. Long-term effects of parents' education on children's educational and occupational success. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly. 2009; 55(3):224-249.)
What makes postnatal depression important to our topic at hand?

It's a MASSIVE factor in child development. The symptoms of postnatal depression make it difficult for new mothers to deliver positive experiences that promote healthy brain development when they occur together. This can lead to undesirable behavioural effects such as disengagement, passivity, and self-control issues.
(Reference: Field T, Hernandez-Reif M, Diego M. Intrusive and withdrawn depressed mothers and their infants. Developmental Review. 2006; 26:15-30.)
How Does Maternal Depression Affect Children?

Poor educational achievements later in life are linked to early exposure to disengaged or unresponsive parents. According to a longitudinal research, at three months postpartum, children whose moms were depressed had-

Lower IQ scores

Poor attention span

Increased learning difficulties

What Kinds of Environments are Best for Child Development?

There is no straightforward answer to this. Above all, a child needs the love and support of their families to develop properly. However, we can't always predict the outside influence or even our own circumstances.

But, if we think about it, almost all the factors that we discussed above have to be accounted for. Otherwise, a child will only get an environment that encourages development in one aspect while neglecting all others. This will surely confuse the child and create a haphazard environment.

How to Ensure the Proper Environment for Child Development?

Pacey has a great article regarding how to create an enabling environment for proper child development. It is basically a very short preview of what has been said in this blog.

However, the best option is to take a course on it. Nothing beats professional advice. Look into the following courses:
(Reference: Hay DF, et al. Intellectual problems shown by 11-year-old children whose mothers had postnatal depression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2001; 42:871-879.)
First of all, these are made by professionals. So, as I said earlier, you'll be getting professional help here. No matter how many blogs you go through on the internet, nothing will surpass expert advice.

Secondly, you can do them at your own pace and once you're done, you can sit for the assessment exam which will get you a certificate. It will count towards your professional development.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many environmental factors that affect child development. It's not always easy for us to ensure that all of these factors veers towards the positive side. However, we have to try our level best to ensure that at least most of them create a favourable atmosphere for the child's proper development. Our efforts start with our awareness of these factors. Know them properly so you can keep record if everything is on track.

What to Read Next:
Child Psychology and Behaviour Development Course Diploma in Child Counselling Course Online at QLS Level 4

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Environmental Factors That Affect Child Development

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Environmental factors that affect child development are not independent of individual factors like family and mental capacity. But how do you identify them so you can ensure an enabling environment for your child? That's what we will discuss in this blog.

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Impact of Home Parenting Environment on Cognitive and Psychomotor Development in Children Under 5 Years Old: A Meta-Analysis

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This study aims to evaluate the relationship between home parenting environment and the cognitive and psychomotor development in children under 5 years old by using meta-analysis. A systematic search of the Chinese and English databases including Pubmed,…

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Brains subjected to toxic stress have underdeveloped neural connections in areas of the brain most important for successful learning and behavior in school and the workplace. Source: Radley et al (2004); Bock et al (2005). Credit: Center on the Developing Child.

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Introduction

How do childhood experiences affect brain development?

Our brains develop from before birth and into adulthood (Siegel and Bryson, 2012). But there are key 'sensitive periods' during early childhood and adolescence where children and young people's brains are more affected by positive or negative experiences (Shonkoff et al, 2008).

What happens in a child or young person's life during these periods can have a significant effect on their brain development.

Positive experiences throughout childhood help to build healthy brains, while experiencing childhood trauma and abuse can harm a child's brain development (Shonkoff et al, 2015).

But our brains always have the potential to change and grow. It's never too late to give a child or young person positive brain building experiences.

Having caring relationships and access to support services can reduce the harmful effects of negative experiences and help a child's brain develop in a healthy way (Shonkoff et al, 2015).
> Find out why the bond between a child and their caregivers is important > Find out more about the adolescent brain in our How safe are our children? report for 2020
How we use metaphors to explain brain development

We want to create a shared and simple language around child brain development that can be used by all professionals, parents, carers and children.

Sharing the Brain Story uses six key metaphors, developed by the Harvard Center on the Developing Child, the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative and the FrameWorks Institute.

These metaphors can be used to improve understanding of child development and give positive brain building experiences to children who have experienced trauma.

On this page you'll find information about each of the six metaphors and tips on how to use them in your work with children and families. We also have a summary booklet you can download to learn more about each of the metaphors and access further reading.

Download the booklet (PDF)

Trauma and child brain development training

Sign up for our face-to-face training programme delivered by experts where we explore child brain development and the six metaphors through practical exercises, case studies, examples and more.

Brain architecture

Brain architecture: how children's brains develop

The first Sharing the Brain Story metaphor describes how the development of children's brains is like the development and construction of a house.

Early experiences build the foundations of our brains. Like a house is built step-by-step - first laying the foundations, then creating the rooms and wiring the electrical system - our brains are built in a similar way.

As good quality materials help build a strong house, positive experiences during childhood help build healthy brains.

Although it's never too late for the brain to benefit from positive experiences, early experiences build the foundations of brain architecture. A strong brain foundation increases the chances of healthy learning later in life (Shonkoff et al, 2007).

Negative experiences such as abuse and neglect can affect the brain's architecture by increasing stress-related disorders including:

mental health problems

drug abuse

diabetes and cardiovascular disease

(Shonkoff et al, 2014).

Building brain architecture

Like improving or rebuilding the architecture of a house - refurbishing rooms, strengthening foundations - the brain can also be improved and rebuilt following childhood trauma through an active process of maintenance and care from supportive, trusted adults.

Brain architecture can be built throughout childhood, adolescence and even into adulthood (Shonkoff et al, 2008).

The remaining five metaphors - serve and return, air traffic control, toxic stress, overloaded, tipping the scales - will help you give parents and carers the tools to build strong brain architecture in children and young people.
> Register for our face-to-face training to better understand how to foster healthy brain development in children > Read more about how you can use the brain architecture metaphor in our Sharing the Brain Story booklet (PDF)

Serve and return

Serve and return: the importance of interaction

The serve and return metaphor from Sharing the Brain Story looks at adult-child relationships by comparing interactions between a child and adult to rallies in a tennis match.

From the ages of 0 to 5, children naturally start interacting with adults through babbling, gesturing and facial expressions. This develops vital language, cognitive and social skills.

Interactions between a child and an adult is like playing a game of tennis. When adults 'return' the child's 'serve' with a positive response, a 'rally' is created.

Just as good rallies between tennis players develop their athletic abilities, good rallies between children and adults strengthen children's developing brain architecture, improve their cognitive skills and develop resilience (Shonkoff et al, 2004; Shonkoff et al, 2015).

When adults do not respond to a child's serve or if children spend a long time on passive activity - such as watching TV - this can break the rally and interrupt development. For example, children learn language, more effectively face-to-face with a teacher or caregiver than by watching TV or a video (Shonkoff et al, 2018).

Improving interaction with children

Sensitive and responsive adult-child relationships help build children's cognitive skills and brain architecture. Research shows a clear link between social and emotional development and intellectual growth (Shonkoff, Boyce and McEwen, 2009).
> Discover how sensitive, responsive parenting can help to build bonds between children and their caregivers > Sign up for free brain-building tips with Look, Say, Sing, Play > Download our free Look, Say, Sing, Play resources
To increase serve and return interactions, you can:

focus on interactive, face-to-face activity, such as talking, singing and playing

respond to and build on physical and verbal cues: if they babble, babble back; if they play with toys, play with them

allow the child to 'serve' - follow their focus and return their serve with support and encouragement

maintain eye contact when interacting with the child - this helps to build a nurturing, secure relationship

positively reinforce children's vocalisations: children repeat behaviours when they are praised, which helps shape their babbles into words (Crowley, 2017).

> Learn how to build strong brain architecture through serve and return interactions in our face-to-face training > Get more information on how you can use the serve and return metaphor in our Sharing the Brain Story booklet (PDF)

Air traffic control

Air traffic control: managing and ordering tasks

This Sharing the Brain Story metaphor compares how children manage mental processes to how an air traffic controller manages aeroplanes in an airport.

Every day, we manage various demands on our attention, from paying attention and controlling impulses, to managing emotions and prioritising tasks (Shonkoff et al, 2011).

With practice and the right support, children learn to organise and control the tasks in their mental headspace, like an air traffic controller organises and lands aeroplanes in a busy airport (Shonkoff et al, 2011).

Executive functioning skills

The air traffic control system in a child's brain is also known as 'executive function': the system that manages social and cognitive skills. Children depend on these emerging executive function skills as they learn to read and write, develop arithmetic skills and interact with peers (Shonkoff et al, 2011).

Although executive function skills can be improved at any time during and after childhood, negative experiences such as trauma and abuse, can hinder the brain's cognitive development (Diamond, 2013). This can weaken the child's air traffic control system and may lead to:

reduced impulse control

weakened working memory and attention skills

disruptive behaviour

(Shonkoff et al, 2011).

Just as an air traffic controller can learn to manage arriving and departing flights, children can learn to manage their mental processes through practice and support.

Building executive function skills

Executive function skills develop throughout childhood, adolescence and into adulthood (Shonkoff et al, 2011). It's important to give children opportunities to develop these skills through experiences appropriate to their age and ability.

You can help children learn air traffic control skills in various ways.

Set a good example through your own actions: children can see adults performing tasks and model themselves on the adult's behaviour. This is called observational learning (Crowley, 2017).

Engage in playful serve and return interactions: social play is important to the development of executive function skills (Shonkoff et al, 2011).

Talk to children about the 'planes' flying around their mind. Discuss how a trusted adult could help them land or look after some of these planes if they are feeling stressed or overwhelmed.

Help children foster decision making and cognitive skills within playful situations appropriate to their age and ability: encourage the child to make choices and 'direct their own activities with decreasing adult supervision over time' (Shonkoff et al, 2011, p.6).

> Take our training course to gain knowledge of building strong executive function skills and air traffic control systems > Explore how you can use the air traffic control metaphor in our Sharing the Brain Story booklet (PDF)

Toxic stress: the effects of stress on child development

Everyone experiences stress, and learning how to cope with stresses is an important part of child brain development (Shonkoff et al, 2014).

Some stress can be 'positive', such as solving problems or preparing for an exam. With adult or peer support, these experiences can help children develop coping and concentration skills that will help in later life.

Other stresses can be 'tolerable'. For example, children are usually able to cope with bereavement if they have the right 'buffers' or support from parents, carers, friends and family.

But if children are exposed to prolonged or repeated traumatic experiences, such as child abuse and neglect, this can cause 'toxic' or 'harmful' stress, where they start to feel more stressed more often and for longer periods. This can disrupt the building of healthy brain architecture (Shonkoff et al, 2014).

This can affect children's physical and cognitive development, including:

a weakened immune system

problems with memory and learning

a reduced ability to control one's moods or emotions

slower information processing

(Crowley, 2017; Shonkoff et al, 2014).

Reducing toxic or harmful stress

The effects of harmful stress on a child's brain and body can be reduced with long-term, consistent help and support (Shonkoff et al, 2014).

The parts of the brain responsible for dealing with stress are particularly malleable during early childhood. Childhood outcomes can be improved through positive changes, such as:

community-based interventions

increased adult-child interaction

supportive relationships.

(Franke, 2014; Shonkoff et al, 2014).

You can help reduce harmful stress in various ways.

Soothe and care for children when they are distressed - this helps their brains develop healthier ways to manage stress (Crowley, 2017).

Interact with young children through serve and return, for example by listening and responding to their concerns. This helps build brain architecture and stress management systems (Center on the Developing Child, 2013).

Help 'buffer' the effects of tolerable stresses by offering safe, reliable and responsive support to children and young people.

Help parents and carers reduce the level of stress their child is exposed to, by giving them support to manage any challenges their family is experiencing.

> Take our face-to-face training where you'll find out more about toxic stress and how it can be reduced > Read more about how you can use the stress metaphor in our Sharing the Brain Story booklet (PDF)

Overloaded

Overloaded: the effects of parental stress on children

This Sharing the Brain Story metaphor compares the process of lorries carrying large loads to parents and carers being overloaded with challenges.

When a lorry carries too much weight, it can be overloaded to the point of breaking down. When parents are experiencing challenges like poverty or lack of support, the weight of these problems can overload their mental and emotional capacity to take care of their children's needs.

Challenges are often out of a parent or carer's control, such as:

violence or feeling unsafe in the community

financial insecurity

lack of community support

losing a job

a relationship ending.

Just as we can lighten an overloaded lorry's load by bringing in other lorries or moving some things by train, we can lighten parents' and carers' loads by providing them with appropriate support. This can help improve their capacity to care for their children (Kendall-Taylor and Stanley, 2018).
> Find out more about early help for families and children
Recognising when parents need help

Some overloaded parents may be reluctant to ask for help for a number of reasons. For example, they might be worried their child will be removed from their care (National Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence and Multiple Disadvantage, 2019).

This means that it's important for professionals to recognise the load that parents and carers might be carrying, provide appropriate support and work with families to reduce unnecessary weight and strain.

There are various ways that you can do this.

Start talking to parents and carers about what support they need as soon as problems are identified.

Take time to understand a parent or carer's position. Sometimes services designed to help might be overwhelming for already overloaded parents.

Encourage parents and carers to seek out support from their community and family members or guide them to support directly. Interventions which strengthen community resources can help manage children's toxic stress response (Franke, 2014).

> Learn about the science behind the effects of stress and how you can tackle parental overloading by taking our training
> See a breakdown of how you can use the overloaded metaphor in our Sharing the Brain Story booklet (PDF)

Tipping the scales

Tipping the scales: outweighing adverse childhood experiences

The final Sharing the Brain Story metaphor uses the concept of scales to explain how to achieve long-term positive brain building environments.

Child brain development is like a set of scales. On one side of the scales there are positive experiences and on the other, negative experiences.

Over time, if the positive experiences outweigh negative ones, the scales tip towards more positive long-term outcomes for the child. We want to help all children's scales tip towards the positive.

All parents, carers, family, friends or those who work with children can help tip the scales positively.

(Shonkoff et al, 2015).

Tipping the scales towards positive outcomes

By using each of the six metaphors, separately and together, you can help parents, carers and communities understand how to build a healthy environment in which children's brains can develop.

This is particularly important between the ages of 0 to 5 and during adolescence. Due to the speed of growth, children's brains are at their most adaptable during these 'sensitive' periods of development - so it's beneficial to stack children and young people's scales with as much support as possible to help build their resilience.

(Shonkoff et al, 2015).

By sharing the brain story through these six metaphors, all the adults around a child can learn how to help create positive brain building environments and experiences. These include:

building strong brain architecture through serve and return interactions

helping children to develop their air traffic control skills

helping parents and carers avoid becoming overloaded and support them in maintaining a stable, low-stress environment within a framework of supportive and committed adult-child relationships.

> For more information on all our metaphors and advice for helping healthy child brain development, take our face-to-face training > Learn more about how you can use the tipping the scales metaphor in our Sharing the Brain Story booklet (PDF)

References and resources

References

Center on the Developing Child (2013) Innovating in early head start: can reducing toxic stress improve outcomes for young children? [Accessed 16/03/2021].

Crowley, Kevin (2017) Child development: a practical introduction. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Diamond, A (2013) Executive functions Annual Review of Psychology, 64: 135-168.

Franke H.A (2014) Toxic stress: effects, prevention and treatment. Children, 1(3): 390-402.

Kendall-Taylor, N and Stanley, K (2018) Seeing context through metaphor: using communications research to bring a social determinants perspective to public thinking about child abuse and neglect. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(1): 8-14.

National Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence and Multiple Disadvantage (2019) Breaking down the barriers (PDF). [s.l.]: National Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence and Multiple Disadvantage.

Siegel, D. J. and Bryson, T. P. (2012) The whole-brain child 12 revolutionary strategies to nurture your child's developing mind, survive everyday parenting struggles, and help your family thrive. London: Robinson.

Shonkoff, J.P. et al (2004) Young children develop in an environment of relationships (PDF). Cambridge: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.

Shonkoff, J.P. et al (2008) The timing and quality of early experiences combine to shape brain architecture: working paper 5 (PDF). Cambridge: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.

Shonkoff, J.P., Boyce, W.T. and McEwen, B.S. (2009) Neuroscience, molecular biology, and the childhood roots of health disparities: building a new framework for health promotion and disease prevention, Journal of the American Medical Association, 301 (21), 2252-2259.

Shonkoff, J.P. et al (2011) Building the brain's "air traffic control" system: how early experiences shape the development of executive function: working paper 11 (PDF). Cambridge: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.

Shonkoff, J.P. et al (2014), Excessive stress disrupts the architecture of the developing brain: working paper 3 (PDF). Cambridge: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.

Shonkoff, J.P. et al (2015) Supportive relationships and active skill-building strengthen the foundations of resilience: working paper 13 (PDF). Cambridge: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.

Shonkoff, J.P. et al (2018) Understanding motivation: building the brain architecture that supports learning, health, and community participation: working paper 14 (PDF). Cambridge: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.

Childline

If a child or young person needs confidential help and advice, direct them to Childline. Calls to 0800 1111 are free and children can also contact Childline online or read about dealing with stress on the Childline website. You can also download or order Childline posters and wallet cards.

Training
Trauma and child brain development training
Further reading

For further reading about child brain development, search the NSPCC library catalogue using the keyword "brain" and "child development".
> Find out more about the Library and Information Service

Introduction

How do childhood experiences affect brain development?

Our brains develop from before birth and into adulthood (Siegel and Bryson, 2012). But there are key 'sensitive periods' during early childhood and adolescence where children and young people's brains are more affected by positive or negative experiences (Shonkoff et al, 2008).

What happens in a child or young person's life during these periods can have a significant effect on their brain development.

Positive experiences throughout childhood help to build healthy brains, while experiencing childhood trauma and abuse can harm a child's brain development (Shonkoff et al, 2015).

But our brains always have the potential to change and grow. It's never too late to give a child or young person positive brain building experiences.

Having caring relationships and access to support services can reduce the harmful effects of negative experiences and help a child's brain develop in a healthy way (Shonkoff et al, 2015).
> Find out why the bond between a child and their caregivers is important > Find out more about the adolescent brain in our How safe are our children? report for 2020
How we use metaphors to explain brain development

We want to create a shared and simple language around child brain development that can be used by all professionals, parents, carers and children.

Sharing the Brain Story uses six key metaphors, developed by the Harvard Center on the Developing Child, the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative and the FrameWorks Institute.

These metaphors can be used to improve understanding of child development and give positive brain building experiences to children who have experienced trauma.

On this page you'll find information about each of the six metaphors and tips on how to use them in your work with children and families. We also have a summary booklet you can download to learn more about each of the metaphors and access further reading.

Download the booklet (PDF)

Trauma and child brain development training

Sign up for our face-to-face training programme delivered by experts where we explore child brain development and the six metaphors through practical exercises, case studies, examples and more.

Brain architecture

Brain architecture: how children's brains develop

The first Sharing the Brain Story metaphor describes how the development of children's brains is like the development and construction of a house.

Early experiences build the foundations of our brains. Like a house is built step-by-step - first laying the foundations, then creating the rooms and wiring the electrical system - our brains are built in a similar way.

As good quality materials help build a strong house, positive experiences during childhood help build healthy brains.

Although it's never too late for the brain to benefit from positive experiences, early experiences build the foundations of brain architecture. A strong brain foundation increases the chances of healthy learning later in life (Shonkoff et al, 2007).

Negative experiences such as abuse and neglect can affect the brain's architecture by increasing stress-related disorders including:

mental health problems

drug abuse

diabetes and cardiovascular disease

(Shonkoff et al, 2014).

Building brain architecture

Like improving or rebuilding the architecture of a house - refurbishing rooms, strengthening foundations - the brain can also be improved and rebuilt following childhood trauma through an active process of maintenance and care from supportive, trusted adults.

Brain architecture can be built throughout childhood, adolescence and even into adulthood (Shonkoff et al, 2008).

The remaining five metaphors - serve and return, air traffic control, toxic stress, overloaded, tipping the scales - will help you give parents and carers the tools to build strong brain architecture in children and young people.
> Register for our face-to-face training to better understand how to foster healthy brain development in children > Read more about how you can use the brain architecture metaphor in our Sharing the Brain Story booklet (PDF)

Serve and return

Serve and return: the importance of interaction

The serve and return metaphor from Sharing the Brain Story looks at adult-child relationships by comparing interactions between a child and adult to rallies in a tennis match.

From the ages of 0 to 5, children naturally start interacting with adults through babbling, gesturing and facial expressions. This develops vital language, cognitive and social skills.

Interactions between a child and an adult is like playing a game of tennis. When adults 'return' the child's 'serve' with a positive response, a 'rally' is created.

Just as good rallies between tennis players develop their athletic abilities, good rallies between children and adults strengthen children's developing brain architecture, improve their cognitive skills and develop resilience (Shonkoff et al, 2004; Shonkoff et al, 2015).

When adults do not respond to a child's serve or if children spend a long time on passive activity - such as watching TV - this can break the rally and interrupt development. For example, children learn language, more effectively face-to-face with a teacher or caregiver than by watching TV or a video (Shonkoff et al, 2018).

Improving interaction with children

Sensitive and responsive adult-child relationships help build children's cognitive skills and brain architecture. Research shows a clear link between social and emotional development and intellectual growth (Shonkoff, Boyce and McEwen, 2009).
> Discover how sensitive, responsive parenting can help to build bonds between children and their caregivers > Sign up for free brain-building tips with Look, Say, Sing, Play > Download our free Look, Say, Sing, Play resources
To increase serve and return interactions, you can:

focus on interactive, face-to-face activity, such as talking, singing and playing

respond to and build on physical and verbal cues: if they babble, babble back; if they play with toys, play with them

allow the child to 'serve' - follow their focus and return their serve with support and encouragement

maintain eye contact when interacting with the child - this helps to build a nurturing, secure relationship

positively reinforce children's vocalisations: children repeat behaviours when they are praised, which helps shape their babbles into words (Crowley, 2017).

> Learn how to build strong brain architecture through serve and return interactions in our face-to-face training > Get more information on how you can use the serve and return metaphor in our Sharing the Brain Story booklet (PDF)

Air traffic control

Air traffic control: managing and ordering tasks

This Sharing the Brain Story metaphor compares how children manage mental processes to how an air traffic controller manages aeroplanes in an airport.

Every day, we manage various demands on our attention, from paying attention and controlling impulses, to managing emotions and prioritising tasks (Shonkoff et al, 2011).

With practice and the right support, children learn to organise and control the tasks in their mental headspace, like an air traffic controller organises and lands aeroplanes in a busy airport (Shonkoff et al, 2011).

Executive functioning skills

The air traffic control system in a child's brain is also known as 'executive function': the system that manages social and cognitive skills. Children depend on these emerging executive function skills as they learn to read and write, develop arithmetic skills and interact with peers (Shonkoff et al, 2011).

Although executive function skills can be improved at any time during and after childhood, negative experiences such as trauma and abuse, can hinder the brain's cognitive development (Diamond, 2013). This can weaken the child's air traffic control system and may lead to:

reduced impulse control

weakened working memory and attention skills

disruptive behaviour

(Shonkoff et al, 2011).

Just as an air traffic controller can learn to manage arriving and departing flights, children can learn to manage their mental processes through practice and support.

Building executive function skills

Executive function skills develop throughout childhood, adolescence and into adulthood (Shonkoff et al, 2011). It's important to give children opportunities to develop these skills through experiences appropriate to their age and ability.

You can help children learn air traffic control skills in various ways.

Set a good example through your own actions: children can see adults performing tasks and model themselves on the adult's behaviour. This is called observational learning (Crowley, 2017).

Engage in playful serve and return interactions: social play is important to the development of executive function skills (Shonkoff et al, 2011).

Talk to children about the 'planes' flying around their mind. Discuss how a trusted adult could help them land or look after some of these planes if they are feeling stressed or overwhelmed.

Help children foster decision making and cognitive skills within playful situations appropriate to their age and ability: encourage the child to make choices and 'direct their own activities with decreasing adult supervision over time' (Shonkoff et al, 2011, p.6).

> Take our training course to gain knowledge of building strong executive function skills and air traffic control systems > Explore how you can use the air traffic control metaphor in our Sharing the Brain Story booklet (PDF)

Toxic stress: the effects of stress on child development

Everyone experiences stress, and learning how to cope with stresses is an important part of child brain development (Shonkoff et al, 2014).

Some stress can be 'positive', such as solving problems or preparing for an exam. With adult or peer support, these experiences can help children develop coping and concentration skills that will help in later life.

Other stresses can be 'tolerable'. For example, children are usually able to cope with bereavement if they have the right 'buffers' or support from parents, carers, friends and family.

But if children are exposed to prolonged or repeated traumatic experiences, such as child abuse and neglect, this can cause 'toxic' or 'harmful' stress, where they start to feel more stressed more often and for longer periods. This can disrupt the building of healthy brain architecture (Shonkoff et al, 2014).

This can affect children's physical and cognitive development, including:

a weakened immune system

problems with memory and learning

a reduced ability to control one's moods or emotions

slower information processing

(Crowley, 2017; Shonkoff et al, 2014).

Reducing toxic or harmful stress

The effects of harmful stress on a child's brain and body can be reduced with long-term, consistent help and support (Shonkoff et al, 2014).

The parts of the brain responsible for dealing with stress are particularly malleable during early childhood. Childhood outcomes can be improved through positive changes, such as:

community-based interventions

increased adult-child interaction

supportive relationships.

(Franke, 2014; Shonkoff et al, 2014).

You can help reduce harmful stress in various ways.

Soothe and care for children when they are distressed - this helps their brains develop healthier ways to manage stress (Crowley, 2017).

Interact with young children through serve and return, for example by listening and responding to their concerns. This helps build brain architecture and stress management systems (Center on the Developing Child, 2013).

Help 'buffer' the effects of tolerable stresses by offering safe, reliable and responsive support to children and young people.

Help parents and carers reduce the level of stress their child is exposed to, by giving them support to manage any challenges their family is experiencing.

> Take our face-to-face training where you'll find out more about toxic stress and how it can be reduced > Read more about how you can use the stress metaphor in our Sharing the Brain Story booklet (PDF)

Overloaded

Overloaded: the effects of parental stress on children

This Sharing the Brain Story metaphor compares the process of lorries carrying large loads to parents and carers being overloaded with challenges.

When a lorry carries too much weight, it can be overloaded to the point of breaking down. When parents are experiencing challenges like poverty or lack of support, the weight of these problems can overload their mental and emotional capacity to take care of their children's needs.

Challenges are often out of a parent or carer's control, such as:

violence or feeling unsafe in the community

financial insecurity

lack of community support

losing a job

a relationship ending.

Just as we can lighten an overloaded lorry's load by bringing in other lorries or moving some things by train, we can lighten parents' and carers' loads by providing them with appropriate support. This can help improve their capacity to care for their children (Kendall-Taylor and Stanley, 2018).
> Find out more about early help for families and children
Recognising when parents need help

Some overloaded parents may be reluctant to ask for help for a number of reasons. For example, they might be worried their child will be removed from their care (National Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence and Multiple Disadvantage, 2019).

This means that it's important for professionals to recognise the load that parents and carers might be carrying, provide appropriate support and work with families to reduce unnecessary weight and strain.

There are various ways that you can do this.

Start talking to parents and carers about what support they need as soon as problems are identified.

Take time to understand a parent or carer's position. Sometimes services designed to help might be overwhelming for already overloaded parents.

Encourage parents and carers to seek out support from their community and family members or guide them to support directly. Interventions which strengthen community resources can help manage children's toxic stress response (Franke, 2014).

> Learn about the science behind the effects of stress and how you can tackle parental overloading by taking our training
> See a breakdown of how you can use the overloaded metaphor in our Sharing the Brain Story booklet (PDF)

Tipping the scales

Tipping the scales: outweighing adverse childhood experiences

The final Sharing the Brain Story metaphor uses the concept of scales to explain how to achieve long-term positive brain building environments.

Child brain development is like a set of scales. On one side of the scales there are positive experiences and on the other, negative experiences.

Over time, if the positive experiences outweigh negative ones, the scales tip towards more positive long-term outcomes for the child. We want to help all children's scales tip towards the positive.

All parents, carers, family, friends or those who work with children can help tip the scales positively.

(Shonkoff et al, 2015).

Tipping the scales towards positive outcomes

By using each of the six metaphors, separately and together, you can help parents, carers and communities understand how to build a healthy environment in which children's brains can develop.

This is particularly important between the ages of 0 to 5 and during adolescence. Due to the speed of growth, children's brains are at their most adaptable during these 'sensitive' periods of development - so it's beneficial to stack children and young people's scales with as much support as possible to help build their resilience.

(Shonkoff et al, 2015).

By sharing the brain story through these six metaphors, all the adults around a child can learn how to help create positive brain building environments and experiences. These include:

building strong brain architecture through serve and return interactions

helping children to develop their air traffic control skills

helping parents and carers avoid becoming overloaded and support them in maintaining a stable, low-stress environment within a framework of supportive and committed adult-child relationships.

> For more information on all our metaphors and advice for helping healthy child brain development, take our face-to-face training > Learn more about how you can use the tipping the scales metaphor in our Sharing the Brain Story booklet (PDF)

References and resources

References

Center on the Developing Child (2013) Innovating in early head start: can reducing toxic stress improve outcomes for young children? [Accessed 16/03/2021].

Crowley, Kevin (2017) Child development: a practical introduction. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Diamond, A (2013) Executive functions Annual Review of Psychology, 64: 135-168.

Franke H.A (2014) Toxic stress: effects, prevention and treatment. Children, 1(3): 390-402.

Kendall-Taylor, N and Stanley, K (2018) Seeing context through metaphor: using communications research to bring a social determinants perspective to public thinking about child abuse and neglect. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(1): 8-14.

National Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence and Multiple Disadvantage (2019) Breaking down the barriers (PDF). [s.l.]: National Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence and Multiple Disadvantage.

Siegel, D. J. and Bryson, T. P. (2012) The whole-brain child 12 revolutionary strategies to nurture your child's developing mind, survive everyday parenting struggles, and help your family thrive. London: Robinson.

Shonkoff, J.P. et al (2004) Young children develop in an environment of relationships (PDF). Cambridge: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.

Shonkoff, J.P. et al (2008) The timing and quality of early experiences combine to shape brain architecture: working paper 5 (PDF). Cambridge: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.

Shonkoff, J.P., Boyce, W.T. and McEwen, B.S. (2009) Neuroscience, molecular biology, and the childhood roots of health disparities: building a new framework for health promotion and disease prevention, Journal of the American Medical Association, 301 (21), 2252-2259.

Shonkoff, J.P. et al (2011) Building the brain's "air traffic control" system: how early experiences shape the development of executive function: working paper 11 (PDF). Cambridge: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.

Shonkoff, J.P. et al (2014), Excessive stress disrupts the architecture of the developing brain: working paper 3 (PDF). Cambridge: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.

Shonkoff, J.P. et al (2015) Supportive relationships and active skill-building strengthen the foundations of resilience: working paper 13 (PDF). Cambridge: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.

Shonkoff, J.P. et al (2018) Understanding motivation: building the brain architecture that supports learning, health, and community participation: working paper 14 (PDF). Cambridge: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.

Childline

If a child or young person needs confidential help and advice, direct them to Childline. Calls to 0800 1111 are free and children can also contact Childline online or read about dealing with stress on the Childline website. You can also download or order Childline posters and wallet cards.

Training
Trauma and child brain development training
Further reading

For further reading about child brain development, search the NSPCC library catalogue using the keyword "brain" and "child development".
> Find out more about the Library and Information Service

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Understanding child brain development | NSPCC Learning

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How does trauma impact on child brain development? How does this affect children in later life? And how can we help children overcome adverse experiences? Sharing the Science uses a trauma-informed approach to explain this and more.

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As the number of adverse early childhood experiences mounts, so does the risk of developmental delays. Source: Barth et al (2008). Credit: Center on the Developing Child.

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Berk, L. & Roberts, W. (2009). Child development (3rd Canadian ed.). Toronto, ON: Pearson Allyn and Bacon.

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Child development is rarely a straight path: While many children progress smoothly from milestone to milestone, others may race ahead in one area and develop later in others. Disability, extended illness, or developmental disorders can affect progress in a range of ways. But for some children, development is disrupted by circumstance or abuse, a group of obstacles collectively known as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

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National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2010). Early Experiences Can Alter Gene Expression and Affect Long-Term Development: Working Paper No. 10. Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu.