Why the First Five Years Matter in a Child’s Brain Development. Dr Nadeem Ghayas

December 20, 2025

Scientific studies shows that child’s brain grows very fast in the early years of life. By the age of five, the brain reaches almost 90% of its adult size. This is why professionals give importance this period. They think that early care builds strong foundations as every area of development grows very fast. That’s why children need proper care, love and nutrition. This is a time when the brain makes millions of new connections every second. These connections are formed through daily experiences, environment, and emotional care of child (Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, 2016).

Early childhood is a critical period for brain development. The young brain is very flexible means they easily learns.  When children receive love, safety, talking, play and quick responses from adults their brain connections become strong; help in learning, controlling emotions, and solving problems. On the other hand, long-term stress, neglect or lack of care can harm brain development by keeping the child’s stress system active for too long (Shonkoff et al., 2012).

Psychology explains this process with the idea of “use it or lose it.” It means how much we use achieve accordingly. A child is born with many brain connections, but these connections need practice to stay active (Kolb & Gibb, 2011). Brain connections become stronger that are used again and again. If not slowly disappear. This helps the brain work better, but it also means that early experiences shape how a child thinks, pays attention and handles emotions later in life (Kolb & Gibb, 2011).

These early years affect intelligence, influence how well a person manages stress, controls emotions, focuses on tasks, and builds relationships. Early experiences work like instructions for the brain, guiding how it will function in the future (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2007). Understanding this helps parents, teachers, and caregivers to treat a child in better way. Which includes talking to children, playing with them, listening, showing love and providing emotional support.

References

1. Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2016). From best practices to breakthrough impacts. Harvard University.
2. Kolb, B., & Gibb, R. (2011). Brain plasticity and behaviour in the developing brain. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 20(4), 265–276.
3. National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2007). The science of early childhood development. Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.
4. Shonkoff, J. P., Garner, A. S., Siegel, B. S., et al. (2012). The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. Pediatrics, 129(1), e232–e246.