The concern with very young children is that, as human beings we have a competitive advantage over the rest of the animal world by the virtue of the fact that we are born with, essentially, a fetal brain.
Our brain gets to develop in response to the environment in which it needs to function. So though we are helpless and completely dependent on our parents for survival at birth, we get to build an architecture that is most efficient for dealing with the world we live in.
What we know about that is that 3 things seem to be very important to building very powerful brains:
Bonding with other human beings: relating to mommy, interacting, developing relationships.
Manipulating the physical environment: stacking up blocks or getting a cheerio into your mouth.
Open-ended problem solving, creative type of plays: so a blank piece of paper and crayons, or a piece of clay, are very good.”
Michael Rich, MD, MPH, Director for the Center of Media and Child Health, in the video below in this post How Young Is Too Young To Watch Television? discusses the highly influential role of media – television, books, movies, video games and music – in children’s development, health and behavior.
Watch the video:
Image: Child’s Eye by apdk