An expert on early childhood development told a La Ronge conference this week that love builds children’s brains.
Dr. Jean Clinton, an early childhood psychiatrist, was one of the speakers at the “Roots to Wings” conference — which wraps up today.
Clinton said a child’s relationships very early in life impact brain development.
“Love builds brains,” she said. “The relationships that children — infants and toddlers and little ones — have builds, literally, the connections in their brains which help them with their learning, help them develop pathways to be able to deal with challenges when they come along.”
Clinton said the experts now know that the architecture of a child’s brain is literally built by relationships.
She added the quality of the language spoken to very young children and the comforting they receive are critical, noting that stressful environments with not much talking have a negative effect.