Ep. 71: Growing Your Child’s “Bushy Broccoli Brain”




Sunshine Parenting show

Summary: <br> “The neuroscience is saying that when kids miss these developmental milestones, their brains aren’t as interconnected as they would have been had they been actively participating in a wide variety of activities. They need a full sensory upbringing, not doing too much of any one thing.”<br><br> -Jenifer Joy Madden<br> <br> In Episode 71, I’m chatting with Jenifer Joy Madden about the latest research on brain development and ways we can help our children grow healthy and “durable” brains.<br> Jenifer Joy Madden is an award-winning health communicator, author, and educator. She founded <a href="http://durablehuman.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DurableHuman.com</a> to encourage all people to cherish and maximize the curiosity, creativity, compassion, and so much else they alone possess as human beings.<br> Big Ideas<br> <br> * Jenifer defines durable as being “effective and strong in body, mind, and spirit for as long as possible.”<br> <br> <br> <br> * The “Bushy Broccoli Brain” — Jenifer uses the Broccoli vs. Broccolini metaphor to show how the brain develops more interconnected, as synapsis fire from rich stimuli, whereas the broccolini is a stalky, more truncated structure, showing a lack of development.  New research on the brain supports the idea that in order to be more durable, our children need 3D, multi-sensory, 360° experiences. The rich sensory environment at camp is a perfect example. Being outdoors and interacting socially stimulates the interconnections in the brain.<br> * If a kid is limited in their activity and they do one thing for a long period of time (such as playing a game online) it crowds out some of the other things they need to be doing during their day to promote full brain development.<br> * The brain develops over time so there are windows of opportunity throughout childhood to develop certain skills. Missing these windows can have detrimental effects, such as “Virtual Autism”. In France and Romania, doctors have identified “Virtual Autism” in kids under age four who have free reign all day to be on a tablet. After days and days of being on the screen, they stop responding to their names and adults can’t catch their eye. When kids return to a regular kid lifestyle and they’re playing with physical objects and playing outside, that “virtual autism” goes away.<br> * After a visit to a treatment center for internet addiction, Jenifer determined that one of the primary causes of this kind addiction is a lack of attachment. Attachment starts a little before birth that the child starts attaching to the primary caregiver — the mother. Kids who don’t securely attach to a caregiver become agitated and insecure and have trouble coping. We need to feed their love mechanisms early on in life, otherwise, they’ll be kind of shaky their whole lives. We need to make sure that babies’ first images are not obscured by a device.<br> * Jenifer describes her course for new parents called <a href="https://durableu.teachable.com/p/wise-parents-guide-new-parents-confidence-kickstart/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Parent’s Confidence Kickstart.</a><br> * Recommendations for parents to help kids overcome addiction to their devices:<br> <br> * Give them chores. They must have a purpose and be responsible contributors to the household. Physical activity is key.<br> * Help them develop skills, genuine relationships, curiosity (“The Triple Crown of Durability”.)<br> <br> <br> <br> Quotes<br> Audrey: “There are all these basic needs that our kids have and to get this really bushy broccoli brain; a big part of it is the social connection. Talking face to face and making eye contact–all that great stuff–I think of that as making a bushier brain.”<br> Jenifer: “Human beings that are young need to have that attachme...