Babies and toddlers are always learning new things, be it words, skills or movement, the first 1,000 days from conception to the age of 2 are probably the most important in their life.
But did you know that the pace children learn at that age is actually more than at any point in their life?
To put it into perspective, teacher, education researcher and founder of Oliiki app Clare Stead shared this astonishing fact on TikTok.
She explained that your baby’s brain is being developed over time through every activity you do with them, “it’s setting the foundations for all the rest of learning and life that will be built on the experiences that you give them right now.
“Amazingly, your baby’s brain has an infinite capacity. Like, it’s storage is unlimited. Which means that the more experiences you give your baby, the richer those experiences are, the bigger and better their brain becomes!”
Clare goes onto explain that this means you cannot overfill your baby’s brain with nurture, love and experiences.
This means that your child won’t be able to ever meet their maximum capability of learning. “They’re always hungry for more,” she says.
But this doesn’t mean that you have to put your child into loads of classes or keep teaching them things — even the tiny daily activities will be part of their learning.
“It’s the tiny things you do everyday that make all the difference,” Clare concludes.
Global charity UNICEF has highlighted the importance of the first 1,000 days. In an article the charity explained that: “While the human brain continues to develop and change throughout life, the most rapid period of brain growth and its period of highest plasticity is in the last trimester of pregnancy and the first two years of life.”
So, even if it doesn’t seem like it — your infant or toddler is learning at the fastest pace they ever will be!