One day they’re crawling and drooling, and the next, they’re speaking full sentences in multiple languages. How do children develop new skills so quickly?
Click start to play today’s Spell It, where we learn how every little ‘human’ has an incredibly powerful brain.
You’ve likely heard the phrase before: ‘Children are like sponges’. Whether they’re learning to walk, talk or master new skills, they quickly and efficiently navigate a world that is strange and new to them.
According to a February 2023 report in the science news website LiveScience, it’s primarily due to neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to form and change its connections, neural pathways and wiring, based on experiences. It gives children the ability to learn and unlearn routines, actions and habits rapidly. A July 2018 study by the Austria-based Centre for Educational Improvement (CEI) found that this ability is most constant before a child turns five years old.
One area of learning where their gains are enormous is language acquisition. Young children have the enviable skill of learning a second or even third language with ease. According to an April 2022 research paper in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, infants can discriminate between speech sounds and tones used in all of the world’s languages, so they’re open to all input, regardless of where they are born.
But time is of the essence, if you want your child to pick up new languages. Many studies, like a 2014 research paper published in the Neuroscience Journal, have found that children’s cognitive flexibility – their ability to switch between two concepts or ideas rapidly, while thinking clearly about numerous concepts simultaneously – and their brain’s neuroplasticity supports children from birth to puberty. If they aren’t exposed to the sounds of another language as early as possible, it becomes impossible for them to distinguish between them.
Set aside language, and children are a force to reckon with, when it comes to learning other skills. A November 2022 study in the journal Current Biology found that elementary school age children can learn more items within a given period of time than adults. Thanks to a brain messenger known as GABA, children’s brains respond to training in a way that allows them to rapidly and efficiently stabilise new learning.
Ideally, to learn quickly, children need support, guidance from adults and access to learning materials. According to the LiveScience report, the best time for learning is as early as possible – between the ages zero to five – since their brains are continuously learning, figuring out new approaches and navigating different situations.
A nurturing environment, along with ample opportunities to interact with people and places, give them the perfect foundation for active learning.
What do you think of children’s remarkable ability to learn? Play today’s Spell It and tell us at games@gulfnews.com.
