New studies show you how to behave with a child: what researchers have discovered

Scientists have been aware for some time that the experiences you have as a child play an important role in shaping the way your brain matures.

For the past 15 years, a team of researchers has studied brain development children to identify what aspects of early life experiences affect brain maturation. In a recently published paper, which summarizes the findings of several animal and human studies, it was found that unpredictability and / or inconsistency can disrupt the development of a brain’s emotional circuits. child. This can lead to an increased risk of mental illness and substance abuse later in life.

The degree of predictability and consistency, the key to success in raising a child

Environmental signals are important for sensory development. For example, if a child cannot see properly because of a lazy eye, he may develop vision deficiencies throughout his life. Similarly, an infant who is unable to distinguish patterns and sound sequences on a daily basis due to frequent ear infections may develop hearing problems throughout his life.

Previous research has suggested that a parent’s neglect of their child leads to major problems later on.

While many studies have focused on the effects of “positive” or “negative” parental behaviors on a child’s brain development, these researchers have paid little attention to patterns of behavior or the predictability and coherence of the parent.

In the long run, predictability also means that a child can gain confidence in the environment.

First, the researchers conducted studies on mice and rats in order to control how mothers behaved towards their pups, limiting the amount of material available in the environment for building nests, thus changing their patterns. Immediately after this, studies were also performed on people, observing how mothers behaved in structured play sessions and how patterns of their actions influenced the emotional and cognitive development of their children.

In other words, as you grow them, so you have them.