90% Of Brain Develops By Age 6

Ever since I found out I was pregnant, all I wanted was for my baby to be strong, intelligent and beautiful. I mean, who doesn’t want a healthy child? When my baby was born, I wanted to teach him everything I knew. I wanted my child to grow up better than I did. I thought I had all the time in the world now, to help my baby boy learn things, but I was wrong. When my child was about six months old, my aunt told me that 90% of the development of the brain is completed when the child is 6 years of age. Until then, apparently, the child’s brain is like a sponge that takes in everything you give. She asked me to give my child maximum exposure and the opportunity to experiment during this period.

Then I started doing some serious research. I raided the internet and realized that everything was pointed towards one conclusion - Around 90% of the development of the brain is completed when the child is 6 years of age. What my aunt said was true! I learned about the key nutrients that are vital for a child’s brain development. I realized that allowing my baby to explore his world along with ensuring a proper intake of vital nutrients is important for his brain development. What I wanted now was to make sure that my child got all the nutrients for his brain development. My mother, mother in law and aunts insisted that I need not worry about this as the baby will meet all his needs from the food and milk. But I had another observation on this matter. If each child got all the nutrition from their food, why does happen that some children show better focus and concentration compared to others? I found out there is a strong connection between food and behavior, including focus and concentration, in children. I realized that as a mother, I should concentrate on brain nutrition and ensure that my child received it adequately

I’d also like to share my learnings from the research I did

What Is The Relevance Of Brain Nutrition?

Nutrition plays a key role in forming the active connection between the brain cells and the proper development of your child’s brain. This one is slightly technical, but take a note of the key nutrients especially.

Read what NCBI guides(1) ,

"The brain is a specialized tissue in which functionality depends upon the generation of electrical potentials and their conduction through long axonal components of cell-bodies and through the synaptic gaps between these cellbodies. These special functions of the brain are reflected in a higher need for certain nutrients such as choline, folic acid, iron, zinc and special fats ".

Essential Nutrients For The Brain Development 

The combination of zinc, iron, magnesium, vitamin B6 and iodine is crucial for the production of the neurotransmitter - dopamine. Therefore, if a child lacks these nutrients , s/he may face issues with attention, focus, memory, or learning. There are lots of products in the market that claim to meet all the nutrient need of the growing child. According to me, if you believe it is good for your child and you have enough faith in it, you should try it. After talking with my peers, after doing my own research, I realized that my child needs these nutrients in adequate quantities. I was worried of my child being fussy sometimes at eating or having a smaller appetite than me, so I decided to add a health food drink to his daily diet. I found that Junior Horlicks has DHA, Choline and other nutrients I read about which help in brain development.

I am now the mother of a creative, imaginative and an intelligent 3 years old. He has made his whole family proud. His grandparents love sharing instances when their grandchild caught them by surprise by acting way beyond what is expected out of his age, like telling them about how a worm compost has been created at his preschool and how it works. He’s been learning at a rapid rate, has made little cities out of building blocks, made up adventurous stories (many of them with him as the hero), has become open to trying newer things, asks questions, clears his doubts, solves puzzles, and seems to be absorbing his surroundings better. Today, when I see all the amazing things my son can do, I feel I made the right choice. This is just my experience. Of course there are many reasons contributing to my child's development, but I feel me giving him the right stimulating experiences and n!utrition has also helped a lot. I am sharing this video with you. Do Watch. Also, do share with more moms and let’s improve awareness levels on this crucial aspect to a child’s development. Look forward to your views and opinion in the comments section.

Disclaimer: Junior Horlicks is a nutritional food powder which as part of a balanced daily diet helps meet your child’s nutritional requirements. This product is not an infant milk substitute or infant food for less than 2years old.