Understanding Early Brain Development (talk) - Dr Phuah Huan Kee

SMART PARENTING CONGRESS 2012 - Raise a Little Thinker
Learning Snippets from Dr Phuah Huan Kee, Paediatrician, Mt Elizabeth Hospital

Babies's brain are not fully developed at birth.

Early brain development is simply a wiring process - synapses formation and myeline formation (protection). From 3 - 26 years, pruning happens rapidly to weed out unnecessary connections and strengthening important ones.

Important to reinforce via frequency and emphasis so that the pruning is optimized. Ensure that the process is enjoyable.The key is exposure, not hothousing.

Developmental milestones highlighted (discrepancies of 3 months are ok). 3 main domains to note:
- motor skillls
- speech and language
- social and emotional interaction

Developmental delay - Isolated or Grouped (austism or brain disorder)

Autism - diagnose it at 18 months (for social and emotional interaction). Check developmental milestones

Dyspraxia (developmental coordination disorder) - check for clumsiness after 3 years of age

To optimize brain development
- healthy diet (breast milk especially)
- healthy body (vaccinations)
- healthy and nurturing environment