BRAIN DEVELOPMENT IS REMARKABLE DURING FIRST FEW YEARS.

• Position: Research results and child management advice

An empty vessel to be filled or a lump of clay to be molded is often how parents see their newborn's potential for growth and development. According to the latest research on brain development, a newborn's brain is remarkably unfinished. The brain, the body's most vital and complex organ, matures outside of the womb. Therefore, babies are deeply affected by their earliest experiences.

Diane Arnold, vice president of education for Children's World Learning Centers, Golden, Colo., emphasizes that positive emotional, physical, and intellectual/language experiences in a child's earliest years are just as important as a healthy diet and a safe place to live. To encourage the healthy development of a newborn, parents need to know that it is the earliest interactions with themselves and other caregivers that most affect the way a baby's brain becomes "wired" for later learning. These interactions determine the potential for the way youngsters will learn, think, feel, and behave for the rest of their lives.

A baby is born with more than 100,000,000,000 brain cells. Before the age of five, long, thin fibers called synapses grow and connect the brain cells, forming the neurological foundation of trillions of connections upon which a child builds a lifetime of skills. The final number of synapses is largely determined by his or her earliest experiences. Brain growth early in life is unparalleled. At no other time in life does the brain master so many skills or does experience etch so deeply in the mind. It is during these first few years that potential vocabulary, math, and logic skills are largely determined and emotional stability is greatly affected.

Parents and early childhood educators have the greatest effect on their child's brain potential. According to The Reiner Foundation, there are 10 things parents can do to provide a healthy, stimulating environment for their baby's brain development:

Be warm and loving. Youngsters experience relationships through their senses. Interactions such as touching, rocking, smiling, singing, and talking help children feel safe and secure with their caregivers. Touch is especially important because it stimulates the brain to release growth hormones.

Be responsive to your child's sounds, expressions, and movements. Infants cannot use words to express themselves. Therefore, they feel secure and loved when they are responded to in other ways. They begin to trust that when they cry, they will be comforted; when they...