“It may shock readers to know that a child’s ability to listen, learn, regulate and read is directly aligned to their early environment and experience since birth.”
As 2025 has dawned we hope to get the mental momentum going again, cogs turning and neurons firing! There has been much media debate recently, relating to children presenting in their formative year of primary school not fully toilet trained or inadequately equipped with a core set of foundational skills; including a good range of physical movement and speech and language acquisition. It’s been put forward that this deems them to lack in a cognitive readiness to learn. I am going to avoid the maelstrom of debate as to whose responsibility this is, or how this situation has arisen. Many attribute this deficit of skills, abilities and aptitude to the legacy impact of Covid-19, but irrespective, and with a conscious effort to avoid blame or shame and embrace curiosity and compassion, the evidence does clearly point to the fact that this is indeed the case. In short, many of our younger school- goers are struggling to engage in formal schooling with the arsenal of skills and abilities they need to navigate an academic learning environment.
Essentially, for many young pupils it is evident that they have not successfully transitioned through the hierarchy of developmental milestones. It may shock readers to know that a child’s ability to listen, learn, regulate and read is directly aligned to their early environment and experience since birth. A baby needs to master the techniques to successfully sit, roll over and crawl before it can proceed to walking, running and jumping. These movements and the motor control required stem from the brain: it is the nerve centre of all operations! These movements are quite literally the building blocks of a young child’s brain. If they miss out on vital stages of this physical development it will negatively impact on subsequent child brain development; the higher functions of their brain – such as cognitive function required to read, write and count will not successfully develop and grow. What has become evident is that many children here have not (for whatever reason) successfully achieved some, or a range of these, developmental milestones. Many teachers and parents are unaware of the knock-on effect of this, and the direct correlation between this achievement and their potential learning ability. These children will not be ready to engage meaningfully with an academic curriculum.
For example, if a child is not successfully toilet trained, they will not have a well developed internal sensory system. This is a neurobiological foundation for learning. Consequently, their lack of body awareness means they will not feel safe, comfortable and regulated in a classroom environment. They may present as dysregulated and hyper vigilant. Equally, their emotional and social learning will be stunted. Research clearly outlines the adverse impact of a child has not had sufficient tummy time. This has been shown to be very significant milestone for a child’s later academic ability and directly supports, and is linked to, their ability and proficiency to read and write in school. Tummy time builds the brain and body systems through developing neck strength and the visual tracking and vestibular system. If a child has had inadequate opportunities, they will present in classroom with visual tracking difficulties and struggle with tasks such as copying down from the board and note taking.
Another important developmental milestone is crawling. Because the brain itself is comprised of two halves or hemispheres, this is reflected in the body in the fact that the body is symmetrical. For both hemispheres of the brain to flourish and grow requires sensory input, stimulation and cross lateral movement. The action of crawling and moving arms and legs in synchronicity and coordination develops the brain. There is a school of thought that links lack of crawling with a difficulty in reading skills and tasks that require children to cross the midline. Virtually every sporting activity requires this type of cross lateral patterning – the arms and legs are working together (but doing different actions) to be responsive. Think of a sport like tennis, basketball or football – even jumping. lifting both feet off the ground or riding a bicycle. The brain has to work very hard and be highly accomplished to successfully master these movements. These physical actions are part of the neurobiological foundations of learning. Every seemingly simple activity, such as throwing and catching a ball uses five different parts of the brain. The right hemisphere actually develops first. For brilliant brain development a young child needs attachment, engagement, stimulation and play.
The takeaway message is: the more active, engaged and playful a child’s early years and experiences are, the better their brain will develop and the greater their cognitive capacity and development will be. Children don’t learn by flash cards or passivity; they learn by doing, reenacting and exploring. The best thing you can do with your child is make them feel loved, supported, safe and have fun!
Sinead Davies is an Educational Psychology Consultant & Practioner for Brain-Based Learning. To find out more, visit @BrainBoxNI on Instagram.
