Brain science is the new battleground in the parents vs. daycare war

The mysteries of a child’s brain have become a bit clearer in recent years, thanks to great leaps in neuroscience. But what governments should do with all that research is still a puzzle…

Now the child’s brain has become an ideological battleground. Child care advocates like Hillary Clinton, claim a child’s brain “has essentially been constructed” by the time he or she enters preschool. This interpretation of brain science — bolstered by decades-old research on poor black children that showed a lifelong benefit to enhanced child care — has led to calls for government supervision of early childhood education so all children enter school on an equal footing.

In Canada, the brain science-recommends-child care argument is most identified with medical researcher Fraser Mustard. His latest report, released this past March with co-author Stuart Shanker, director of the Toronto-based Council on Early Child Development, musters neuroscience to promote a $10-billion national child care program. The government “has failed to act convincingly on the huge body of scientific evidence,” the report laments…

Norman Doidge, University of Toronto psychiatrist and author of the current (if unlikely) bestseller on brain plasticity research The Brain That Changes Itself, argues that what brain science does show is that children thrive when they receive large amounts of personal attention from their parents. “Compared to other species, the human brain remains incomplete long after birth. The long-term bond between parent and child is probably so intense precisely because the child’s brain requires so much one-on-one attention to complete its basic structure.” The mother-child connection, says Doidge, creates “a warm emotional bath” of brain chemicals that fosters learning and healthy brain development. Even instinctive parental actions such as frequent physical closeness and games like peek-a-boo serve vital roles in brain building, he adds…

Source: Macleans
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