At the same time, scientists are now learning much more about the biological processes that underlie what we have known. Scientists are finding that the kind of caregiving that parents provide for their children has an even greater effect on brain development than most people previously suspected. Of course, heredity plays a role. We now know that a complicated mix of heredity and experience shapes brain development. Because most of your child's brain development takes place after birth, you have many opportunities every day to contribute to his healthy development.
Experience shapes the developing structure of the brain.
The human body is entirely made up of cells, and the brain is no exception. Before birth, a baby's brain cells multiply at an astonishing rate. By the time your baby is born, she will have 100 billion brain cells. These cells are not yet connected in networks as they will be when her brain is mature. The networks formed by brain cells are crucial.