January is a time of beginnings. It feels fresh and full of potential and possibilities. Many of us are thinking about making changes in the new year and being intentional about those changes. The same can be said for children.
The precious development of a child is something that is also full of potential and possibilities and with each day we get to set intentions on how we impact each child we experience.
From the time of conception to the first day of school we have only 2,000 days to impact the life of a child and prepare them for the next steps of experiencing the world and having great success in their lives.
As we set our intentions for change in our own lives for the next year and beyond, I encourage us all to be intentional about how we will nurture the beginnings of our children -- and each day is a new beginning!
There are two key factors of development that play a major role in how children develop. What nature provides (our genes) and how we are nurtured as we grow (our environments). As these two factors mix and blend they provide a foundational framework.
The Alberta Family Wellness Initiative has a fantastic four-minute video that captures this message well. It highlights the basics of how to support "better futures by building better brainsî.
One of the key pieces the video highlights is serve and return. If we understand this concept our children will be far ahead of the game!
Serve and return is also explained well in the Fall 2012 edition of Apple Magazine in "Our Brains and Understanding Children's Development". The brain is built by an interactive process known as serve and return because it's very much like a game of tennis or volleyball.
A child begins with a gesture or soundóthe "serveîóand you respond with the "return.î A baby smiles at you and you smile back. You gurgle and he gurgles back. A toddler pulls at your leg for attention and you bend down to reassure her.
When parents or other caregivers respond sensitively, a child is surrounded by positive serve and return exchanges.
Serve and return exchanges take place throughout our lives, but are critical in early childhood because they're the building blocks for a healthy brain, says Carole Anne Hapchyn, an infant psychiatrist with Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health (CASA) in Edmonton.
"The quality of that back and forth connectedness builds a baby's brain,î she says. This structural building is known as brain architecture. Serve and return exchanges are also needed for children to regulate their emotions and develop language, gross motor skills (such as learning to sit, stand and walk) and fine motor skills (such as learning to hold a pencil and tie shoes).
Some genes are switched on and off by serve and return exchanges. When you soothe and calm your child through serve and return interactions, your child also learns a key life lessonósensitive, responsive back-and-forth exchanges are the building blocks of children's early years relationships and connections with others are essential.
Without caring and nurturing serve and return exchanges, the architecture of the brain can be affected, as these experiences play a key role in how a child learns, feels and behaves as well as his overall health and relationships with others.
I believe that every day is a school day and as we know and understand differently we are then empowered to act differently. I intend in this next year to "play tennisî with as many children as I can! Grab a racket and join me.
- Krebs is the coordinator of the Mountain View County Early Childhood Coalition. For more information on the coalition call 403.586.5465.
