As children observe an action, word or thought that is calm, warm, firm, kind and playful their mirror neurons fire and form new neuro-pathways as if they were performing the action themselves. Therefore what it is you would like for your child to do, say and think falls on a parent’s responsibility to model their own executive functioning capacities of knowing what to say, do and think in life’s situations. Efficient mirror neuron activity leads to good overall development in all areas and leads to higher emotional intelligence and the ability to empathize with others. Thus, they represent the neurological mechanism that allows us to put ourselves in the shoes of others. The mirror neurons are the brain feature that makes empathy possible. These findings are among the most significant neuroscientific discoveries in recent years (The Human Brain, by Rita Carter). Mirror neurons also allow us to know what another person is feeling, without having to think about it. This means we unconsciously mimic the actions of others, and thus share, to some extent, their experience. These certain neurons are activated when you move, and also when you see someone else moving. This capacity for imitation is due to the presence of mirror neurons in a child’s cortex. So the child has a great capacity to learn by imitating what they see, hear, touch, smell, taste and even being able to imitate other’s movements and feelings. These are the sensory and basic motor skill areas or the brain. MRI scans indicates that by age 4 the child’s first areas of the neocortex are developed and connected. I will present FOUR ways that you as parents can be proactive in helping your child make those very vital connections to their brain’s control center. However you as parents can positively impact the connections from the lower infant immature survival brain to the frontal lobes of a child’s brain as early on as the birth of your child. MRI scans shows that only at 21 years of age is the frontal lobe area of the higher brain (neo-cortex) mostly matured to allow top-down brain pathways to be developed to override lower brain functions. Inhibiting “motoric impulses” – our urges to run, jump, and climb.Inhibiting primitive impulses of fight-flight and freeze.Ability to think, plan, reflect and make choices.Responding sensitively to other people and to read their emotional and social cues required to help a child know when to say “I am sorry” “please” “thank you”.These are all some of the capacities of the frontal lobe’s executive functions in the cognitive higher brain that plays a key role in:
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