
The Brain Is Particularly Vulnerable to Trauma at Two Distinct Ages - mdisc
http://qz.com/470751/your-brain-is-particularly-vulnerable-to-trauma-at-two-distinct-ages/
======
davedx
Interesting. Our daughter is 2 months away from her 2nd birthday and just in
the last month or so, her speech has started accelerating at quite a pace.
Whereas from 8 months or so she was making noises and started to form her
first words, these days it's almost one new word per day, and she's starting
to make lots of 2 and even 3 word sentences.

Another interesting point: we're bringing her up to be bi-lingual (Dutch and
English), and because her environment is primarily Dutch, almost all of the
words she speaks are in Dutch, though she understands a decent share of
English too, now. I wonder if because language development is a bit more
prolonged with bi-lingual children, if this vulnerable phase is also then
prolonged, or if the brain starts to be more resilient as soon as a "first
language" is settled in?

I love this stuff!

~~~
edwhitesell
Somewhat related, I found my Son's bilingual exposure very interesting. From 3
months to 20 months he was in a bi-lingual montessori (english & spanish).
Teachers and assistants always use both languages to work with children. We
also reinforced at home wherever possible. Our limited spanish skills were
mostly from the things he brought home and told us and a few books.

Then we moved and he was in another school, english only, from 21 months to 38
months. The decline of spanish skills was slow at first, even while we worked
with him at home, then became very rapid. English skills continually improved,
as would be expected.

At 39 months we moved back to the original bilingual montessori. He quickly
learned/learns new spanish words and phrases, but the previous ones (colors,
numbers, shapes, animals) are mostly gone. Even though I recall 90% of them,
all learned as an adult, he doesn't.

~~~
vanderZwan
The first three and a half years of my life I lived in Ghana and, apparently,
spoke Dutch, English, Spanish (with the local nuns) and Fante (a dialect of
Akan, a Ghanaian language). I no longer speak the latter two, although I've
been told that I can "bluff" Spanish pronunciation very convincingly off the
page.

------
meeper16
The age ranges:

\- year 2 or "terrible two's"

\- years 13-18 or teenage years

------
Kenji
I knew that the onset of a variety of mental health problems is during the
late teenage years, so I'm not surprised at all. What did surprise me was that
the babies sustain lasting damage because they were never "cuddled and played
with" in their early years. So much that it appeared in brain scans when they
were adults. Interesting.

~~~
vwcx
This is why I feel particularly sad when watching a parent screaming profanity
at their child on the NYC subway. A poorly-regulated parent produces poorly-
regulated children.

~~~
breakingcups
And so the cycle continues.

------
outworlder
> Throughout the first two years of life, the brain develops at a rapid pace.
> However, around the second year, something important happens—babies begin to
> speak.

I began to speak way before learning to walk, around my first birthday. I
personally know of child that began to speak before his first birthday. As in,
complete sentences.

Is that rare and my sample set has been biased? I thought it was normal for
babies to start speaking at age 1, not 2.

------
Kayou
> In short, your ability to maintain proper social skills and develop a sense
> of empathy is largely dependent on the physical affection, eye contact, and
> playtime of those early years. Even something as simple as observing facial
> expressions and understanding what those expressions mean is tied to your
> wellbeing as a toddler.

Crap, is that true? Anyone knows other studies confirming this?

------
pcl
Spoiler alert: "the terrible twos" / "toddler" and "teenage years." So, a
broader range than the clickbait title implied.

~~~
sp332
Those are distinct ages.

