The First 1001 Days

A Focus Keyword: Developing

The key word when we talk about the developing child's brain is the fact that it is constantly developing. This means it is fundamentally different to an adult or teenage brain. It is still learning, growing and adapting itself. The child’s brain simply does not work the way the adult brain does. It does not understand or think through things in the same way the typical adult brain would. Part 2 demonstrated to us how the brain grows and organises itself. This Part hopes to show begin to show a bit of the complexity of how that developing brain is functioning.

The First 1001 Days

You may have heard of something called the First 1001 days. The First 1001 days are considered to be the most important days of a baby/young child’s life, and this importance cannot be stressed enough. This is because it is the period where the baby’s brain is growing the most and at the fastest rate that it ever will. It is growing and learning about the world and is extremely sensitive in this process. Things that happen during this time can stay with the child for the rest of their lives, even if they are not aware of it.

The Role of The Caregiver

Things like patterns of attachment, emotional regulation, and learning get established during this period. This is why in Issue 1 we touched briefly on how influential the dyad (caregiver-child unit relationship) is. The primary caregiver or caregivers are the single most influential individuals in the young child’s life, teaching them how the world works and how they should respond to it.

During the first 1001 days of the young child’s life, the primary individual they are in contact with and learning about the world from is their primary caregiver and this will influence the rest of their life. My particular emphasis with the First 1001 days is that caregivers need to be extremely intentional about what they do during that period. Despite what many people think, they cannot just do or say anything around the child because the child will pick it up and it will definitely affect their development.

The Brain and The First 1001 Days

In Part 2.2.1. and Part 2.2.2., I spoke of how the baby's brain is rapidly growing, organising and re-organising itself at the biological level. I also spoke of their need for stimulation. This stimulation is to encourage brain growth, to encourage learning and to encourage specialisation and efficiency of the brain. It encourages that fine-tuning of the synapses and neuron growth which I mentioned earlier. The earlier the child gets this input and stimulation, the better. Part of this is the encouragement, attention, involvement of the caregiver in supporting their child's brain development.

Caregivers also need to be very intentional about what they expose their children to because every single bit of information and stimulation is shaping the baby/young child's experience and view of the world, and, in many ways, shaping their response to the world. They need to be taught the correct way to interact with the world. Whether in education, relationship, behaviour, etc., because there will come a point where it is extremely tough to change the child. Brain biology clearly shows us that. That is why the earlier caregivers start, the easier it will be and the better the outcomes will be.

Because this is extremely important, people who work with children try to get the most out of this period through things like early child development (ECD) and parenting intervention programmes. They try to set the child up relationally, educationally, psychologically, and nutritionally during this period as this is a time where most of the child’s core understandings and experiences of the world are formed (we discuss this concept more in later Issues).

Many psychologists, when they try to understand why a person is the way they are (why they think and behave the way they do), look into a person’s childhood. This gives insight into family history and how they were supported in their development. Psychological trauma has shown us that things stick with you from your childhood at the unconscious level. Even things earlier than age 4 (which is where most children begin to retain memories). How the early years go can have a lifelong positive or negative effect.

This is why I say that the young brain is the most sensitive and needs to be protected during this time. This is why when we try to correct the behaviours of society, or of individuals, we always take a look back into the past, a pattern will almost undoubtedly reveal itself if there has been no diagnosed disorder. And if we want to fix the issues in society, we need to start in childhood. It all starts right at the beginning.

Beyond Day 1001 (after 3 years-old)

Once the initial 1001 days are over, this does not mean that now the child has learned everything they will ever need to know and learn or that what you do does not matter as much. Remember, as stated, the brain is constantly learning so even if you have dropped the ball and the child is past 3 years old, you can still do something about it. What the end of the First 1001 days does mean is that many fundamental and core elements of brain functioning are established, and the brain starts growing a bit slower. It still remains very plastic and can be moulded, but not in exactly the same way as the first 1001 days. We need to always remember the processes going on in the brain during that time to understand why these first days are so important. Their importance becomes even more exhibited in the social aspects of life, especially attachments and navigating/understanding how the world works.

Critical and Sensitive Periods of Development

In Part 2, I touched on how the brain desires and needs stimulation. The First 1001 Days is an example of a sensitive period, where the brain needs stimulation and lack thereof can be irreversible. A sensitive period is basically a short window of time where it is important that the brain receives the necessary stimulation to learn something. If it does not learn that thing or something goes very wrong during that period, there will be negative, often lifelong consequences.

One example of this is in language development. There are studies of children who were denied the ability to talk as they were growing up. Whether this was through abuse or growing up wild. Such children, although their brains were designed to be able to learn something like language, without the stimulation from the environment, their brains alone could only take them so far, and once they began learning, they were never able to reach the level of their peers. The importance of the first 1001 days and early learning becomes more pronounced when we think of these examples. They show that the young brain will automatically learn and seek out stimulation, but only to a point. It requires stimulation to continue to grow.

The contrast of these negative examples is that when a sensitive period is deliberately optimised (like teaching a child multiple languages when they are young), the brain becomes "the best it can be" at performing that specific task. When they're learning to walk, engaging them in a way which strengthens their muscles teaches their brains a lot and they may reach optimisation quicker. For every element of development, there is a sensitive period where we need to be extra attentive and intentional.

Always Valuable Individuals

The First 1001 Days and brain development show us that every moment from conception is important and shaping an individual. There are many labels placed on the growing baby while they're in the stomach, but all this shows that they are a valuable individual from the moment they come into existence and need to be treated as such. That is why we try to protect them from the time they are in the belly, not just afterwards, because they are vulnerable and need it.

All the development that happens even from the moment of conception which can fundamentally shape the rest of the child’s life are just one reason I believe that the young child’s life starts long before they are born and needs to be valued. This is why we begin protecting and emphasising health in the first 1001 days, beginning from conception, why parents are encouraged to begin communicating and bonding with their babies while they are still in the womb. Because they are a person who is affected emotionally, psychologically, and physically by the decisions of those around them.

The Takeaway

The Developing Brain is a very sensitive brain. In every way, it is extremely vulnerable to the influences of the world around it. This vulnerability exists socially, emotionally, psychologically, biologically, and, as Part 4 demonstrates, even genetically. This is why it is important to know that there are sensitive periods which need to be maximised and where extra caution must be taken. The First 1001 Days of their lives is one such period. So much is happening during the first 1001 days at the biological and social level, and there is so much to explore. The brain is developing regardless, but it is also learning - this is why looking at theories of learning and development theories in later Issues becomes important.

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