Neural Nuggets: 10 Unique Baby Brain Facts
Explore some of the most remarkable baby brain facts and why the first few years are so critical for setting the stage for a lifetime of growth.
Early brain development is a fascinating and fast-paced journey that shapes how babies learn, think, and connect with the world around them.
From the joy of discovering new sounds to the wonder of studying human faces, babies are constantly building skills through curiosity, practice, and interaction with their caregivers. These early experiences lay the foundation for lifelong learning, emotional resilience, and problem-solving abilities.
Explore some of the most remarkable baby brain facts and why the first few years are so critical for setting the stage for a lifetime of growth.
1. Babies’ auditory systems begin developing early in the womb (around 25 – 29 weeks).
Newborns show that they can remember and show preference to familiar voices at birth.
2. Babies learn the smell of their mother’s milk even in utero.
Their olfactory sense takes information from the amniotic fluid, and after they are born the information they gathered helps them distinguish their mother’s breast milk from that of another mother.
3. Neural connections in the brain are faster during the first three years than at any other age!
One million new neural connections are made every second, which happens because of the discoveries children make on their own and with the help of their caregivers.
4. Babies pay special attention to human faces early in the first year.
This is because of the rapid development of areas spanning the occipital and temporal lobes of the brain that are specialized in face perception.
5. Emotional expressions on human faces also capture babies’ attention.
The amygdala detects emotional expressions in the face. Hours after birth, newborns study faces and can even distinguish between happy, sad, or even surprised facial expressions.
6. During the first year, babies develop procedural memory (“knowing how”), which is the unconscious memory of skills and how to do things, particularly the use of objects or movements of the body, such as how to make a ball roll or how to get a toy to make a sound.
These memories are typically acquired through repetition and practice and are composed of automatic sensorimotor behaviors.
7. Babies are curious about new and unexpected things! Babies interact with and show more curiosity about objects that defy their expectations.
They are more interested in playing with an object that does something unexpected, like a toy that may make a surprising sound.
8. Multilingual children have greater cognitive flexibility.
They can code-switch and use words they know better in a specific language, correctly using them in context and with a conversational partner who would understand them. They use a lot of cognitive functioning to use all the languages they know to be better understood by the person they are speaking with, and they do this seamlessly most of the time!
Want more baby brain facts? Here are 10 practical tips for brain boosting.
9. Sleep is so crucial for young children’s brains!
The connections between the different parts of the brain are strengthened during sleep.
10. The forebrain is the last part of the brain to develop, but it is the most plastic, and early experiences shape it.
The foundation of the forebrain’s architecture is being shaped by positive interactions that will result in emotional regulation, cognitive flexibility, and increased problem-solving skills.
Dig Deeper into Early Brain Development
Critical Competencies for Infant-Toddler Educators™
This training program addresses three essential learning and development areas to transform teacher-child interactions.
The Growing Brain
This professional development curriculum provides early childhood professionals with evidence-based strategies to support healthy brain development and build the connections babies need for success now and later in life.
