Ages 1-5: The Most Important Years for Brain Development

Did you know that 90% of a child’s brain develops by age 5? The first 5 years of a child’s life are essential to their healthy brain development and growth. Without those first five years of healthy brain development, children’s brains will not develop properly later.

Many things affect how a child’s brain develops, including everyday experiences and the quality of care that they receive. It’s important to stimulate children’s brains in the first five years of their lives so that their future development isn’t stunted. To find out more about the vital first few years of children’s brain development stages, keep reading.

Brain Development Ages

During the first year of their lives, children develop rapidly. In their first 3 months of life, children work on their reflexes, like grasping their own hands or clenching them. From 3-6 months, children begin to gain more strength. They can sit up and roll over, and even pull themselves up by holding on to something.

From 6-9 months, children can sit up without any support and might begin to crawl. By 9-12 months, they learn to stand up on their own, walk, and throw objects.

After the infant stage, child development continues to happen rapidly in the following few years. From ages 1 to 2, children can turn doorknobs, scribble with markers, and walk up and down the stairs. They can also understand and respond to some words.

From ages 2 to 3, children begin to kick balls, run without much struggle, and respond to simple directions from other people. From ages 3 to 4, children may learn to ride a tricycle, catch a ball, and go down a slide. At this stage, the brain allows children to understand more complex ideas because they start to closely analyze the world around them.

From ages 4 to 5, they can do somersaults and copy different shapes. Also at this stage, children are learning and understanding more every day, so they can do things like count to low numbers or rhyme words.

How to Encourage Brain Development

There are many ways that parents and teachers can stimulate children’s brains from ages 1 to 5 and beyond. For example, the Pear Tree School explains that creative, hands-on activities are the best way to spur this stimulation.

Playing with children, whether it be by playing a game or singing them a song, can help with child brain development since it builds cognition by increasing neural connections in the brain.

Doing crafts with children can also help child brain development, as it stimulates both sides of the brain. Making things, even a simple craft, pushes children to learn certain skills or techniques, leading to further brain stimulation.

Finally, reading to children, or having children read, especially at their later ages, is very helpful to their development. Reading drives child learning by allowing them to hear words, which helps with language and communication skills.

Wanna Learn More About Child Brain Development?

The early stages of child brain development are vital for children to learn and grow. Without proper stimulation and learning in those first five years, children’s brains will not develop as they are supposed to.

For more information on child brain development and ways to help ensure child brain growth, check out our blog.