The development of the frontal cortex

In this episode we cover:

• Your brain is made up of four main parts (four brains).
• The frontal cortex is located behind your forehead and is the most recently evolved. We refer to this as brain number four.
• The frontal cortex is optional or taught- this is where things like empathy, language, emotional control and skills like reading are located.
• The frontal cortex largely develops as a result of how your genes interact with the environment in the first 1000 days
• Brains develop in a sequence of in a order
• Attachment is key for your pēpi’s intellectual development.
• It is more important your baby be in charge of when they develop new motor skills. Trying to achieve these early may interfere with normal development, so don’t worry about the age they achieve these – if you have concerns about delays then consult a doctor. How quickly they crawl or walk has nothing to do with how intelligent they are.
• Toddlers (around two years of age) brains have not yet developed the ability to control their emotions and need you to help manage their emotions.
• Singing, soothing and distracting them are great strategies to calm an emotional toddler down.
• Around 3 years old they will find their brake pedal to control their emotions, but it will still be largely unstable for a while yet – this is absolutely normal.