An infant’s brain is not a finished product at birth. As the baby starts experiencing life, millions of new connections continue being made between cells. The nature of these connections set the stage for the infant’s social and emotional development, learning, and functioning under stress, through circuits automatically activated later in life. Early caregiving plays a crucial role in the development of synaptic connections. While many efforts have been devoted to improving early caregiving environments for children, most address only mother-infant relationships, ignoring other important relationships and issues affecting coordination of early caregiving. Our research has been documenting how the nature of coparenting relationships during the baby’s first year of life leads to important outcomes in the toddler years, such as acting-out problems
and anxiety.

Click on the articles below to read more about children's early brain development:

Children's Emotional Development is Built into the Architecture of their Brains

Excessive Stress Disrupts the Architecture of the Developing Brain

Early Exposure to Toxic Substances Damages Brain Architecture

The Timing and Quality of Early Experiences Combine to Shape Brain Architecture