Give your child the gift of ‘Travel’

It may positively impact brain development!!

Who doesn’t like vacations? We all do!! But how many times we put it off because of other priorities? How many times the ‘quality time’ is substituted by the coolest toy available in the market?

Well, you might want to rethink your family vacations after considering Dr.Jaak Panksepp’s findings.

Go for a Road Trip!!

What is the best way of learning in life? Experience, right? Then why should we deny our kids to have that.  I was intrigued by this research and found it interesting to share.

When you travel with your family or in simpler terms go on a Family Vacation, the time spent together is invaluable to kids as it lays down the base for positive affective memory process.

Us, right in front of entrance of Tabo village in Spiti Valley. This is a capture shared from our 11 days long road trip from New Delhi to Spiti Valley and back, Aayansh was just about 11 months old at that time.

As a matter of fact, in most regions of the brain, no new neurons are formed after birth. Instead, brain development consists of an ongoing process of wiring and re-wiring the connections among neurons. New synapses between cells are constantly being formed, broken or pruned away. In early childhood the brain is genetically programmed to produce more synapses. For instance, a child’s brain (from 0 to 3 years of age)—produces 700 new neural connections every second

According to the Panksepp’s research, the PLAY system and the SEEKING system are areas of the brain that are exercised best when kids are exposed to new surroundings. Kids, have strong urges for physical play (running, chasing, pouncing and wrestling); these aggressive assertive actions rarely get triggered when kids are at home or left alone with their toys.

The SEEKING system fills the mind with interest and motivates organisms to effortlessly search for the things they need, crave, and desire. In humans, this system generates and sustains curiosity from the mundane to our highest intellectual pursuits. When kids are often taken to new places it creates awareness, self-stimulation and urge to explore.

Just imagine when you take your baby to the park or outdoors on a regular basis, how happy he/she is. The chirping sounds, resembling laughter, social play and interaction promotes the epigenetic construction of higher social brain functions, including empathy.

These systems remain inactive / underutilized at home.

 

Aayansh’s first beach vacation at the Akshi Beach near Alibag, Mumbai

We already have a fair idea about how spending time together positively impacts the brain development of a kid (every parent’s gut feel), the ability to understand language, solve problems, and get along with other people is greatly influenced by the experiences garnered as an infant and young child. It’s just that we have a lot of science to support that conviction too. The formative years are really important. The long-term positive effects of adult-child interaction are manifold. Engage with your kid and empower him to reach infinite potential.

Happy Tripping!!!