Brains are like buildings �鶹APP� they are built from the bottom up. The foundations are there right from the start, �鶹APP�constructed�鶹APP� through a complex process that begins even before a child is born.

In the first 1000 days between pregnancy and age two, more than 700 new neural connections are formed every second �鶹APP� at no other time in someone�鶹APP�s life will their brain develop so rapidly.

And by the time a child is just five years old, 90% of the brain will be fully developed.

�鶹APP�The brain is most flexible, or �鶹APP�plastic,�鶹APP� early in life to accommodate a wide range of environments and interactions,�鶹APP� say researchers from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.

�鶹APP�Sensory pathways like those for basic vision and hearing are the first to develop, followed by early language skills and higher cognitive functions.�鶹APP�

That�鶹APP�s why proper nurturing care and stimulation is vital during the early years of a child�鶹APP�s life. The first year of a baby�鶹APP�s life is when the brain begins to understand the complexities of language �鶹APP� and those early experiences are the building blocks for later learning. 

The #5for5 campaign launched last week by �鶹APP �鶹APP� the children�鶹APP�s charity behind A World at School �鶹APP� focuses on the importance of early childhood development.

�鶹APP is calling for people to put pressure on world leaders to take urgent action to ensure all children aged zero to five have access to the five areas of nurturing care needed for a child to get the best start in life �鶹APP� , health, learning, and protection.

But birth isn�鶹APP�t the point when a child�鶹APP�s brain goes into developmental overdrive. That starts in the mother�鶹APP�s womb.

�鶹APP�Brain development begins within a week of conception. At birth about 100 billion neurons, or brain cells, have been produced,�鶹APP� experts from the early years organisation zerotothree.org told �鶹APP.

�鶹APP�These brain cells have not only spent time travelling to the right places in the brain �鶹APP� they are also are beginning to connect with one another.

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�鶹APP�During the prenatal period, brain cells are already busy sending and receiving messages about touch, hearing and movement. The sense of taste, smell and sensitivity to light are also beginning to develop.

�鶹APP�While most of the newborn�鶹APP�s brain cells are formed during the prenatal period, the brain is not completely developed at birth. Much of the connecting neurons and strengthening of those connections take place after birth.

�鶹APP�The way brain cells connect and develop will be influenced by the newborn�鶹APP�s experiences with adults and their environments.�鶹APP�

The researchers from Harvard University in the United States say the brain is most flexible in the early years �鶹APP� but this changes as the child gets older. After that initial burst of rapid growth, connections are reduced so that brain circuits become more efficient.

In the first year of a child�鶹APP�s life, sensory pathways like those for vision and hearing are the first to develop, followed by early language skills.

�鶹APP�From the prenatal period through the first years of life, the brain undergoes its most rapid development and early experiences determine whether its architecture is sturdy or fragile,�鶹APP� say the team in a paper called .

Genes are important in the development of a brain. But so too are experiences �鶹APP� especially the interaction between children and their parents or caregivers.

�鶹APP�Young children naturally reach out for interaction through babbling, facial expressions, and gestures, and adults respond with the same kind of vocalizing and gesturing back at them,�鶹APP� say the Harvard team.

�鶹APP�In the absence of such responses �鶹APP� or if the responses are unreliable or inappropriate �鶹APP� the brain�鶹APP�s architecture does not form as expected, which can lead to disparities in learning and behaviour.�鶹APP�

With many children living through the ongoing trauma of conflicts, disasters and abuse, the effects of �鶹APP�toxic stress�鶹APP� cannot be ignored.

It damages the developing brain, which can lead to lifelong problems in learning, behaviour, and physical and mental health.