We just love to love our little ones, and the great news is that it’s super for their brain health!
Indeed, according to new research carried out in the US, ‘maternal nurturing’ during the preschool years has been proven to lead to increased brain development in the child.
The research, carried out by a team of experts at St Louis’ Washington University School of Medicine, established that the love and support of a child’s mother is pivotal during their preschool experience.
As part of the study, which was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team studied the brain scans of a group of children from the preschool years through to adolescence.
Those children who received loving, nurturing support from their mothers in their early years displayed a sharper rise in the volume of their hippocampus – the area of the brain believed to be responsible for emotion, memory and the nervous system.
However, for those children with less supportive mums, the same steep growth trajectory of the hippocampus was not noted. Their brain development did not match up with the pace of the first group, even if their mothers became more supportive later in their childhood.
Commenting on these significant findings, study author Joan L. Luby said: "The parent-child relationship during the preschool period is vital, even more important than when the child gets older.”
"We think that's due to greater plasticity in the brain when kids are younger, meaning that the brain is affected more by experiences very early in life. That suggests it's vital that kids receive support and nurturing during those early years,” she added.
