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The Baby’s Brain
Primed to Learn, But not Alone

The Education Act B.E. 2542 promotes education as the major process to develop the mind and body, intelligence, knowledge, morals and ethics. To enable people to live harmoniously within society and to enhance their lives by cultivating their minds to absorb knowledge efficiently throughout their lives.

The human brain is very different to that of other mammals, being the source of human competence, traits and personality and individual differences. Nevertheless, the brain and its functions, although taught in medical schools, raises not an iota of interest in educational science circles where matters such as students’ brains, brain structure, functions and learning factors are not considered. The Office of the National Education Commission, Office of the Prime Minister is aware of the importance of brain cultivation and the learning process and consequently established the Institute of Brain Development and Learning in order to supply information on brain development written by worldwide brain experts. Information is provided to the public by Associate Professor Sansanee Chatkupt, M.D., a pediatrician and child brain expert. The following is an extract from her book on environment and child’s learning.

Scientific research has determined that bringing up a child morally, academically and assertively balanced, is the key factor to a mature successful life. Experiences of life during the first 3 years are momentous and influence the person’s life in latter years. From the moment of birth, the child is learning and the environment is instrumental in its development in all aspects, including intelligence, cleverness and emotional responses.

The child’s closest social environment is with the parents, whose conduct is meaningful to the brain and other development. Interaction and touching accentuate the bond between parents and the child, such as hugging or reading to a child. Moments such as these, are extremely important in promoting the child’s learning and emotional development. While parents hug, or read to a child, its favourite tales, the child activates its imagination, while at the same time absorbing the warmth and affection of its parents.

In fact, parents should carry and read aloud to the child, no matter how intelligent, or how much educated, the parents are, or whether the pronunciation is right or wrong, it is the best brain stimulation to promote emotional development, including chatting with the child. This behavioral approach will channel the child’s learning abilities towards reading, learning, elocution, vocabulary development and a creative mind. Most parents refrain from talking with their babies, feeling they are too young to talk to, which unfortunately deprives the child of a perfect opportunity to develop its learning capability.

All parents want to share a sublime feeling of success with their children. According to contemporary research, the child’s brain and the way it is developed are indicators of the child’s cleverness, brightness and merit. Are parents aware of this? Once a sperm fertilizes an egg, the brain starts its development and continues, especially through the stages between birth, growing up, to 3 years of age.

A new born infant has one hundred billion neurons, which are not yet connected. The baby’s brain is like an empty room, unfurnished and undecorated. The brain sections which function on thought, memory, emotion and social behaviors have not yet been cultivated until stimulated through parents’ up-bringing and the environment. Each brain neuron will then be connected. The more the brain cells are stimulated, the further the brain will develop. Thus, the baby will mature into a clever child.

Apart from brain cultivation which is commensurate with physical development, parents should consider new approaches to prepare the child for the rapid changes of the globalized world so that the child is well able to cope with the ever changing scenario.

An important feature in a child’s up bringing comprises the Emotional Quotient or EQ – the emotional-oriented methods or emotional coping abilities. Despite possessing top academic achievements or a high Intelligence Quotient – IQ, success may still elude a person unless they are sociably conscious and capable of control of the emotions. Apparent qualifications of EQ include self-consciousness, awareness of the situation and ability to control the emotions, together with being enthusiastic, hard-working, achievement-motivated, non-competitive, sympathetic, clever, sociable and disciplined.

Success in compiling brain potential is derived from all surrounding parties; parents, guardians, government executive officials, teachers, the community, government and private organizations which should seriously acknowledge the importance of brain potential and child learning.

The prerequisites of a child’s ideal cultivation include the parents’ maturity, financial status, and willingness and time to spend on the baby’s brain development which begins right after conception and is then dependent on up-bringing and care. Parents need to support their children with appropriate information according to their age. Effective education prompts children to learn, think, be creative, flexible, able to solve problems, disciplined, assertive and to possess a good self-image.

To achieve the objectives set by the Education Act, it must start with the family’s up-bringing reinforced by child care, schooling, higher education and the non-formal education throughout the life span. Everyone can contribute to a child’s development by creating new values and offering a learning-oriented environment and prompting cultivating activities towards goodness, intelligence, happiness, energy and strength of the nation’s future human resource.