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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2012)
in other words Why Love Matters By Diana Peach The difference between a baby and a squirrel In recent years, brain researchers have pretty much resolved the nature- nurture debate when it comes to human beings. They’ve concluded that we are influenced by both. Most of us who are parents understand the contributions of “nature.” Our infants are born with their own little personalities and temperaments. BUT “nurture” plays a gigantic part in who we ultimately become, and that’s because there is a big difference between a baby and a squirrel. A squirrel is a squirrel. A squirrel in China isn’t so different from a squirrel in England or Oregon. Squirrels can be depended on to do squirrelly things – raid bird feeders, climb trees, store food. They don’t need much training or feedback to be successful squirrels. A human baby on the other hand has to be highly adaptable. We are the ultimate in social animals, born to particular parents, families, communities, and nations. Layer family expectations and parenting styles on top of economic, religious and cultural differences and it’s no wonder we are all so unique! Which brings me to the baby brain. Our need to adapt at a very young age to different social expectations requires human baby brains to be the least “hard-wired” of all baby brains in the animal kingdom, including squirrels. Interestingly, this means that most of the brain’s cortex develops AFTER birth. The cerebral cortex is the part of the brain that controls little things like thinking and language! Here we make meaning of our personal experience of the world, enabling us to interact effectively with others. It makes sense that this interactive part of our brain develops through social contact. Who we are as social and emotional beings develops through our interaction with the people we encounter in our first 2-3 years of life. Therefore, our earliest experiences as babies have a much greater impact on who we are as adults than many realize. It is as babies that we first learn what to do with our feelings and start to absorb our experiences in a way that will affect our later behavior and thinking. Baby stress management Early social experiences shape the developing brain and determine how stress will be responded to in the future. Life is full of stress, you might say, and shouldn’t infants and babies get the picture early? A small amount of stress is normal and unavoidable, but babies aren’t born knowing how to manage stress, so expecting them to Vernonia Volunteer Fire & Rescue Golf Benefit Sunday, August 5th, 2012 7:30 AM (Jamboree Weekend) Vernonia Golf Course 15961 Timber Rd. East Vernonia, OR 97064 Please join in supporting “Toy & Joy” to purchase toys for local kids for Christmas Format: Entry Fee: Scramble, Shotgun Start (4 person teams) $ 95.00 per person or $350.00 per foursome Due by: July 29, 2012 (Before July 1st receives an additional $10 off per person) Entry Fee includes: Green fees, 1 Cart per team, Gift Bag, Team Photo, Surf & Turf Brunch and Raffle Ticket Brunch, Raffle & Awards following the tournament. Individual registrations are welcome Make checks payable to: Vernonia Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association 501(c)3 Tax deductible For more information, please contact Randy Carlton: 503-429-8252, 503-791-8309 or Email: vernoniagolfbenefit@gmail.com july24 2012 11 figure it out on their own is a little silly emotional meanings associated with –like expecting someone to learn French them. without hearing the language. How to Every experience a baby has manage stress is one of those skills that is stored in the huge warehouse of the we teach through social interaction with brain and forms the basis for how baby our infants. perceives the world – as Babies learn that safe and loving or as scary “Who we are as they can tolerate a certain social and emotional and unreliable. The more amount of stress once a baby has a particular beings develops they are confident that an experience the stronger through our attentive adult is available the template becomes. interaction with the to help them. Once a That’s awesome when people we encounter baby has repeatedly they are good experiences, in our first 2-3 years terrible when they aren’t – experienced care from of life.” a responsive caregiver, because it takes ten times stress hormones are less as many good experiences likely to flood the brain when the baby to create a happy template over an old experiences minor frustrations. The crappy one. baby’s little brain says, “No big deal. I can handle this, because I know I will Why love matters get help if I need it.” Children need a satisfying experience of dependency before they Why you never forget how to ride a can become truly independent and self- bicycle managing. This ability comes from Can you imagine what life having relationships with people who would be like if every time you rode a respond to their needs and help them bicycle, made a sandwich, or used your handle their feelings. TV remote you had to learn how to do Oh, Diana, you might say. We’re it all over again? We wouldn’t be able going to have all these spoiled children to function. The brain handles this by running around because their parents are creating templates, an amazing library trying to create happy brain templates! of billions of bits of information that Don’t worry. Healthy emotional brain we access constantly and at a moment’s templates lead to healthy emotional and notice. behavioral skills. Stressed emotional Babies’ brains are primed to templates lead to difficulties handling absorb information at an incredible rate. feelings which then lead to difficulties Their libraries collect important how- with behavior. It’s all connected. to guidelines such as how to pick up a By 10 months of age, baby Cheerio with two fingers or empty a bin brains have the capacity to store lasting of toys. The libraries also file away very templates filled with emotion. These subtle observations of facial expressions, templates form the library for emotional tone of voice, body language and the regulation. At this age, baby is already observing how his parent or caregiver handles feelings and is making those strategies his own. He is already absorbing caregiver strategies for calming and self-soothing as well as absorbing negative experiences and expectations that trigger stress. These templates become a guide for behavior later when the caregiver is not available to help the child through the joys and struggles of growing up. And that’s why love matters. Warranty on all parts and labor Diana Peach received a Masters Now offering in Pastoral Counseling from Saint 2 and 4 wheel Joseph’s College in West Hartford, alignments CT. Before moving to Oregon she worked in Burlington, VT as a 58605 NEHALEM HWY. S. mental health clinician for children Next to Storage, Too ages 0-6 and their families. VERNONIA E C I V SER PAIR & RE 503/429/7972
