A prediction machine – your toddler’s brain (and yours)

We often think we see something first, then our brain reacts to what happens around us, but neuroscientists suggest this isn’t quite how it works. Our brains are active all the time and constantly predicting what could happen next.^[1] 

Our brain could be described as, ‘a prediction machine.’^[2] 

We don’t think and react, rather, our brain is active all the time and uses experience to predict what might happen next.  

The predictions then trigger an appropriate action – if our prediction is wrong our brain responds and adjusts the reaction.^[1] 

Our predictive brain helps us catch a cup that’s falling off a table, catch a ball, and smile when we see a friend.^[1] 

Cause and effect – one way your toddler learns 

Professor of neuroscience at Cambridge University, Usha Goswami, suggests we are born with a bias to learn about causal relationships. So, our brains expect to make links between actions and events.^[2]  

In the same way that we perceive colour or movement without consciously thinking about it, we perceive causation from birth. 

This means your toddler has been noticing and learning from how things are linked since they were born.  

Experimenting and asking – how your toddler refines their understanding 

Your toddler will explore cause and effect as they play; they might experiment with rolling or throwing a toy so they can see what happens.  

They will also look to people they think know more about the world to see what they expect to happen. In the future, this might become the (seemingly endless) asking of, “Why?”  

Your toddler's brain and prediction 

As your toddler has more experience of people, objects and events, their predictions will improve. 

They might move before a falling tower of blocks hits them, as they have enough experience for their brain to respond quickly.  

Keep playing, keep talking 

Playing is a brilliant way for your toddler to explore cause and effect, and you can help them see the links by making a simple comment about what’s happened.  

For example, “Oh no, I bumped the table and the car fell off!”  

References: 

[1] Feldman Barret, L. (2021). Seven and a half lessons about the brain. Picador. 

[2] Goswami, U. (2020) Cognitive Development and Cognitive Neuroscience. The Learning Brain. London: Routledge.