Ninety percent of a child’s brain develops before age five, so the first five years of life are vital in setting a child up for success.
Children’s experiences and their relationships with their parents, peers and caregivers are critical aspects of this.
Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to adapt and change its structure and function. The brain has extreme neuroplasticity during the first five years of life, and it declines with age. Elizabeth Everett, deputy director for First Five Nebraska, said this is why it is much easier for people to learn languages when they are younger.
“The first few years, based on what we've known from science, shows that a child's brain is very malleable,” Everett said. “It learns at a really rapid pace. It is a time where children understand through different experiences, with a parent or with any type of caregiver, and those experiences shape how they move forward and how they learn.”
Everett said some of the most important lessons children learn are social skills and emotional skills. Their parents are children’s first educators, so their involvement in their child’s experiences is crucial. This includes speaking with their child about their feelings, going on walks, asking them about what they learned in school and more.
Milford Childhood Learning Center worked with data and research from Communities for Kids and First Five Nebraska as it was developing its program.
MCLC program coordinator Kylie Schildt said the center prioritized having the correct resources available for every child because it knew this would help them be more emotionally, socially and academically prepared for school and their lives beyond.
Studies show there is a huge return on investment when people support a child’s development at a very young age, Everett said. Whether a child goes to a childcare center or stays home with their parents, it is vital they have caring, positive relationships and learning experiences.
