Did you know that the brain develops from the base up?

Scientists describe brain development as being ‘caudal to rostral’. Caudal comes from the Latin word 'caudum', which means tail, and rostral from the Latin 'rostrum', which means animal snout or beak. What this means is that our brains develop from the bottom upwards, with areas that control things such as reflexes, breathing and heart rate developing first, and areas that involve higher functions developing last.  

Our brains remain 'plastic' (meaning that they can change as a result of experience) throughout our lives, so while there are critical periods in development when your child might be particularly able to learn certain things, it is never too late to learn!  

If you'd like to find out more about how, when you hold, touch, speak to and respond to your baby, you are supporting their brain development, enjoy this read.