According to “The Yale Child Study Center Guide to Understanding Your Child” (Linda C. Mayes, M.D. and Donald J. Cohen, M.D.) “…timing is crucial. There are prime times for acquiring certain kinds of knowledge, skills and capacities.” The study points out that in the first three years connections among neurons increase exponentially and by the age of two, a toddler’s brain is as active as an adult’s. A three-year old’s brain is super dense with connections and is nearly two and a half times as active as that of a college-age adult.
From this and other research studies we learn that neural connections activated by repeated experiences tend to become permanent, and connections that are not used often or not at all tend to be pruned away. For some regions of the brain, if essential stimulation does not take place during a particular time, that region’s function is lost and cannot be regained (Mayes, Cohen).
This is why an enriched environment for young children is most important as this will influence intellectual development. TAG Toys are designed to stimulate specific kinds of thinking abilities during this critical period as outlined by our Chart of Abilities at www.tagtoys.com.