Cup your head
with your hand just under the bony part of your skull (above your neck). This
is where the cerebellum is situated. It forms part of the brain stem and
controls movement, balance and body control. Movement in utero is responsible
for making the cerebellum physically grow. At birth, a baby’s cerebellum should
be about the size of a 50c piece, growing to the size of a tennis ball by
adulthood.
Edu-profilogist,
Dr Anette Lotter, who regularly attends brain autopsies, says that she is very
concerned at the decreasing size of the cerebellum in children today. “What we
are seeing in the physiology of the brain results from the fact that children
today do not move enough. With insufficient movement (too much time spent in
baby carriers or in front of TV, for example), or lack of the right kind of
movement, there is inadequate stimulation of the cerebellum in the brain stem.”
While the brain,
just like the body, needs food and water in order to survive, it also needs to
be marinated in rich life experiences in order for your child to take advantage
of all the genetic potential he/she was born with. In the first year of life ,
parents are automatically programmed to do the things that are most important
for brain growth – cuddling, rocking, massaging, singing, playing, feeding, to
name a few.
By stimulating
the senses through these activities, connections and associations between the
brain cells form, and these become more permanent as your baby begins to move.
Movement is excellent brain food, wiring the brain for more sophisticated
learning tasks later on like reading, writing, spelling and maths.
Your child deserves a good start www.catrobatkidz.com
