The crucial impact of the first 5 years on brain development

We initiated Fabli in 2022 as a research and development project following the discovery of a study of the Center on the Developing Child from Harvard University.

His interpretation has led to numerous articles claiming that 90% of brain development occurs before the age of 5. While the Harvard study fully supports this theory and demonstrates the critical importance of the early years of life, the study stops short of confirming a specific percentage.

The study clearly shows that a child's early experiences, in the womb and during the first years of life, influence gene expression and the construction of brain connections.

During this time, our little ones' brains are developing at a breakneck speed, faster than any other phase of our lives.

The quality of the child's environment, the attention and responsiveness of adults are of vital importance in establishing the brain architecture of a balanced future adult.

The importance of relationships and interactions

Through warm and caring interactions, a child learns essential information about themselves and the world around them. For example, they learn that they are loved and safe. They also learn what happens when they cry, laugh, or express themselves with gestures or sounds.

When an infant or toddler babbles, gestures, or cries, and an adult responds appropriately with eye contact, words, or a hug, neural connections are built and strengthened in the child's brain. The Harvard research team has given this principle a name: “ serve and return .” Like a game of tennis, this back-and-forth is both fun and helps develop a child's cognitive abilities.

Your child also learns by observing relationships between other people, paying attention to your behavior with other family members or friends. This learning is the basis for the development of your child's communication, behavior, and social skills.

Just as a weak foundation compromises the quality and strength of a house, negative experiences early in life can alter the architecture of the brain, with long-term negative effects that persist into adulthood.

These valuable interactions with family and other adults in their daily lives guide them in their emotional, social, behavioral and intellectual growth.

The importance of play

Essential life skills, from communication to problem-solving, are born from play. Play is our little adventurers' secret weapon. It's through play that they explore during hide-and-seek, experiment with new tricks, solve puzzles, and evolve in multiple facets of their personalities.

And let's not forget that play strengthens the bond between parents and their children, with a simple but powerful message: “You are important to me.”

The brain's ability to change declines with age

The brain is more flexible and agile in the early years of our lives. It must adapt to a wide range of environments and interactions very quickly.

But as the maturing brain specializes to take on more complex functions, it is less able to reorganize itself and adapt to new or unexpected challenges.

For example, from the first year, the parts of the brain that differentiate sounds become specialized depending on the language the baby has been exposed to; at the same time, the brain already begins to lose the ability to recognize the different sounds found in other languages.

Although the “windows” for learning languages ​​and other skills remain open, these brain circuits become increasingly difficult to modify over time. Early agility means it's easier and more effective to influence the architecture of a baby's developing brain than to rewire parts of its circuits as an adult.

The problem

Yet an American child of this age spends on average 3 hours/day in front of a screen depriving him of the necessary ingredients to become a balanced human being:

• Quality interactions to develop social skills,
• Games to unlock new cognitive skills,
• Stories so that children can better understand themselves and the world around them through their imagination.

Fabli and its contribution to your children's development

Fabli brings together all the ingredients to enable a child to develop healthily: interactions quality with parents, games stimulants and stories extraordinary.

But that's not all.

Based on interviews with over 200 parents, psychologists, and education professionals, we realized that providing content to children is only part of the equation. In fact, for stories to impact children, “ Serve & Return ” is necessary.

Parents should be involved in children's moments of discovery and learning.

In addition to our beautiful stories, we have designed Parent Guides to provide tools for communicating and interacting with children about audio content and games. For each story, a guide will be available and will provide parents with:

• A summary of the story and explanations of the themes, lessons, concepts contained in the story,
• Discussion points and questions to ask children to explore the topics covered in more depth,
• Activities and games to get out of the audio experience,
• Plus expert advice for further reading.

To conclude

The first five years are therefore indeed crucial in terms of neurological development. The Harvard research team even goes so far as to declare that child development—particularly from birth to age five—is the foundation of a prosperous and sustainable society.

In summary, here are the key takeaways from the Harvard study:

• It's easier and more efficient to do things right the first time than to try to fix them later.
• Early childhood is important because experiences early in life can have a lasting impact on later learning, behavior, and health.
• Babies' brains need stable, caring, and interactive relationships with adults, which will contribute to healthy brain development.
• Early childhood experiences remain etched in the body and have lifelong effects on the physical and mental health of adults.