Plentyn Bach Corff Cymru: Bywyd

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-We're all different.

-We all live a life

-that's unique to us.

-From our first breath...

-..throughout our life...

-..we learn and change...

-..we learn and change...

-

-..as we adapt to our surroundings.

-I'm Dr Anwen Jones,

-a Physiology lecturer...

-..at Cardiff Metropolitan

-University.

-I'm Dr Katie Hemer, a Bioarchaeology

-specialist at Sheffield University.

-We'll look at the key developmental

-steps for body and brain...

-..as we grow, mature and welcome

-new members to our midst.

-In each programme, we focus

-on a specific stage of our life.

-This is our journey through life.

-Toddler

-This is a newborn calf.

-Within half an hour

-of being born...

-..it can walk and feed.

-It's ready to respond to any danger.

-It takes about a year for a

-human baby to take its first steps.

-During the subsequent two years,

-baby steps become confident strides.

-Our ability to communicate develops

-from sounds to words and sentences.

-These years are important

-and frustrating...

-..as we try to find our feet.

-By our second birthday, we weigh

-four times our birth weight.

-But our growth rate slows down...

-..as we start to look

-more like a child than a baby.

-We take our first steps

-when we're a year old.

-We'll walk

-around 700 metres in an hour.

-That's seven football pitches.

-We learn by falling, which

-happens around 17 times per hour.

-Once we start talking,

-there's no stopping us!

-At two years old,

-we learn five new words every day.

-At three years old,

-we've heard over 30 million words.

-To make this possible...

-..hundreds of connections between

-brain cells are created every day.

-By the time we're three, we have

-100 trillion of these connections.

-So many connections, the brain

-weeds out unnecessary ones...

-..in a process known as pruning.

-It's like weeding the garden

-to make room for plants to grow.

-During the series, we follow three

-generations of the Smith family.

-They'll help us discover

-how the body develops and matures.

-Oh! Pig.

-Bethan is just over 18 months old

-and she's learning to talk.

-Yes. Moo!

-She loves

-practising new words with Mam.

-Mami.

-Mami.

-How does

-our ability to speak develop...

-..from sounds to words to sentences?

-At three months, we start to make

-cooing, vowel sounds.

-At six months, the sounds become

-more organized and we babble.

-Hee-ah!

-Hee-ah!

-

-Yeah.

-Hee-ah!

-Hee-ah!

-

-Yeah.

-We soon begin to mix

-consonants and vowels...

-..to create sounds

-like ba, ma and da.

-We then learn to combine the sounds.

-When we're a year old, we say things

-which sound like words...

-..and we say our first words.

-Katie is at the School Of Education,

-Bangor University...

-..to meet child development expert,

-Professor Enlli Mon Thomas...

-..and ask her

-how infants learn to speak.

-Children start to speak

-when they're a year old.

-What steps

-lead to those first words?

-The brain develops

-a language system...

-..because the baby listens to what's

-going on around its little ears.

-# Good morning, good morning... #

-The infant

-hears a torrent of sounds...

-..and the brain must learn

-where to separate those sounds...

-..to create units which make sense -

-words and sentences.

-An infant must get to know

-the grammatical rules of language.

-That's achieved

-through exposure to that language...

-..and the brain processing examples

-of different aspect of language.

-Up and down. Up and down.

-If a child hears dwy gath, dau gath.

-Dau gath, dwy gath and so on...

-..the brain must decide which

-is correct - dwy gath or dau gath.

-When the brain hears enough examples

-it assesses what's right.

-But, in some aspects,

-the brain isn't quite sure.

-Things like mutations?

-Things like mutations?

-

-Yes.

-At 18 months,

-we know around 20 words.

-Giraffe.

-At two years old,

-we form short sentences.

-You can have blue.

-By the age of three, we start

-to link sentences together...

-..and build a knowledge

-of the rules of language.

-The more a child hears the language

-he or she is trying to learn...

-..the faster they'll recognize the

-words, use those words themselves...

-..and form sentences.

-In addition to

-the wealth of language we hear...

-..the way language is transferred by

-interaction with a child is vital.

-Nia Magdalen,

-also from the School Of Education...

-..has carried out research

-to discover the effect...

-..of hearing language

-and interaction...

-..on a child's capacity

-to learn language.

-She looked at

-the effect of exposure to Welsh...

-..on children

-from non-Welsh speaking backgrounds.

-Every child must learn Welsh.

-It's part of the curriculum.

-A child whose parents and

-grandparents don't speak Welsh...

-..isn't exposed to Welsh

-until he or she starts school.

-The aim of our research

-was to use TV...

-..to introduce the children

-to native Welsh models...

-..to expose them to more Welsh.

-Two and three-year-old children

-watched one Cyw programme a day...

-..for six weeks.

-They then did some language tests...

-..which were based

-on those TV shows.

-Waldo says...

-With help from Waldo, the tests

-looked at language skills...

-..such as recognition

-and vocabulary.

-They also studied

-things like mutation and syntax.

-The parents

-were quite worried at first.

-They doubted their child

-would like hearing Fireman Sam...

-..speaking a strange language.

-In reality, where parents persevered

-and showed the programmes again...

-..the children were delighted.

-Seven young children

-were part of this research group...

-..two of whom started to use

-the Welsh language within the home.

-That was the aim of the research.

-To bring Welsh into children's homes

-before they start school.

-The research

-was also carried out...

-..on older, four and five year old

-children in English-medium schools.

-The children

-watched Cyw programmes in class.

-Nia interacted with one group

-but not with the other...

-..and a third group had Welsh

-stories read to them and no TV.

-The group which watched TV

-and interacted...

-..did better on language tests.

-It was an unexpected result for us.

-We expected the story group

-to come out on top.

-Once they'd had a bit more input

-and exposure...

-..all three groups

-showed improvement in their Welsh.

-It was great for us.

-While they listen to a story

-and read books...

-..we usually interact with children.

-It gives us a chance

-to discuss and learn...

-..by linking words and pictures

-on the pages...

-..with objects, activities

-and feelings.

-A child can return

-to the same page time after time.

-Sharing a book is a great way

-to capture the child's imagination.

-We're not saying you can stick

-your child in front of the TV...

-..and they'll learn a language.

-The elements of interaction,

-watching together and support...

-..which happen when you read a story

-and sit one-to-one...

-..help a child acquire a language.

-Nia's research shows that,

-in addition to reading a story...

-..watching TV

-can enrich a child's experience...

-..helping them to learn a language

-and learn about the world.

-But interacting with a child

-as you do this is crucial.

-Yes. Horse.

-Look!

-After the break,

-we stare and move...

-..as we look at more important steps

-in the development of toddlers.

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-Our brains undergo huge changes

-during the first years.

-Every day

-is full of new experiences.

-Each one creates new connections

-between brain cells...

-..which starts to shape our brains

-for the life ahead of us.

-It happens quickly, with 80% of

-the process complete in two years.

-This creates a foundation to prepare

-us for the challenges awaiting us.

-Why can't you remember being a baby?

-You're unlikely to remember anything

-before your second birthday.

-It's called infantile amnesia.

-Fellow mammals, such as monkeys and

-mice also have infantile amnesia.

-Scientists

-have even halted it in mice.

-But toddlers remember things such as

-Mam's face or a trip to the zoo...

-..so memories are created

-but we don't retain them.

-Why not?

-Several theories relate to this.

-Some say we lack the language skills

-to store memories.

-Some say we're yet to develop

-adequate self-awareness...

-..to store memories

-in chronological order.

-Others believe that so many neurons

-are created in early infancy...

-..our access to memories

-is somehow blocked.

-A combination of those theories

-may be at work.

-We have

-no definitive answer as yet.

-It's incredible, but before a

-certain point in our development...

-..we lack self-awareness.

-In other words,

-there was a point in time...

-..when I was unaware

-that I was a distinct individual.

-That sense of self-awareness is an

-important step in our development.

-A simple test is used

-to demonstrates this.

-All you need is a mirror,

-some red face paint...

-..and lots of little volunteers.

-These babies are between six months

-and two years old.

-We put a red spot on their noses

-and place them in front of a mirror.

-If they recognize themselves

-when they see their reflection...

-..they should react by pointing at

-or touching the red spot.

-I asked clinical psychologist

-Dr Mair Edwards...

-..to take a look

-at the test results...

-..and explain what the test

-says about our development.

-Mair, what was going on

-in that video?

-Well, some infants

-looked into the mirror...

-..and it was clear

-they didn't recognize themselves.

-Some reacted to

-the other baby in the mirror...

-..but none of them recognized it

-as their own reflection.

-Then, we had

-two slightly older children.

-They recognized themselves.

-Even without the spot on the nose,

-they reacted to the mirror.

-They became shy

-when they saw themselves...

-..and they performed

-in front of the mirror.

-They recognized themselves.

-At what age

-does a child become self-aware?

-Before a baby's first birthday...

-..he or she realizes

-they have an effect on the world.

-In terms of their cognitive,

-neurological development...

-..there's a marked shift when a baby

-is between 14 and 18 months old.

-That's when a child

-suddenly becomes self-aware.

-The child realizes the world

-isn't an extension of themselves...

-..and that the world carries on,

-even if he or she can't see it.

-Until we become self-aware...

-..we can't communicate fully with

-other people as separate entities.

-Another thing we look for

-in slightly older children...

-..is they start to consider

-what other people think...

-..or if people's experiences are

-similar or different from their own.

-They then begin to show empathy with

-and sympathy for other people.

-At some point

-during our development...

-..most of us start to favour

-one hand over the other...

-..when we carry out everyday tasks.

-This is known as handedness.

-Well done, Lili Wen.

-Lili Wen is 18 months old.

-As you can see,

-she loves to do jigsaws.

-I've monitored her,

-and she shows no hand preference.

-She uses both hands

-to do her jigsaws.

-Up to 90% of people

-favour the right hand.

-The other 10%

-are either left-handed...

-..mixed-handed, according to

-the task, or ambidextrous.

-Men are twice as likely

-to be left-handed than women.

-We can do most tasks

-with either hand...

-..but we tend to be more accurate

-or faster...

-..when we use one hand

-rather than the other.

-Studies show that children begin to

-favour one hand over the other...

-..for simple tasks such as eating

-before their first birthday.

-But in more complicated tasks

-like building a tower...

-..hand preference isn't evident

-until a child is three or four.

-Genes play a part too.

-If Lili's mother is left-handed...

-..Lili's up to 50% more likely

-to be left-handed too.

-In the womb, we're more likely

-to suck our right thumb.

-Babies are more likely to turn

-on their right side than their left.

-Perhaps our tendency to favour

-one side is in us from the start.

-Hundreds of genes are likely

-to be part of the process.

-Like many other things, our

-surroundings also play their part.

-Nature and nurture will have

-an effect on which hand we favour.

-What about Lili?

-She hasn't chosen

-her favoured hand yet.

-Something which happens in the brain

-when a child is three or four...

-..decides which hand

-they'll favour forever.

-It takes time and lots of practise

-to learn new movements.

-How do we do it and what part

-do the people around us play...

-..as we learn these movements?

-Our ability to learn new movements

-by observing and copying others...

-..is an important skill.

-Imitation helps us

-learn all sorts of movements...

-..from clapping to throwing.

-Imitation helps us

-learn quickly and effectively.

-Imitation starts

-at a very young age...

-..as we interact with a parent...

-..and it continues as we grow.

-I've come to Tir na n-Og Day Care

-and Child Research Centre.

-I met Dr Mihela Erjavec...

-..who's carried out research

-into imitation skills development.

-Some people

-believe that imitation is innate...

-..but our results have shown

-that this isn't the case.

-Imitation, like all higher skills,

-has to be learned.

-Caregivers and parents...

-..help children learn imitation

-through infancy and childhood.

-Can you do this?

-Children between 18 months

-and four years old...

-..are asked to imitate

-the researcher's movements.

-The children are familiar with

-some of the movements...

-..as they're part

-of coordination games...

-..they've already practised

-with Mam or Dad.

-The child receives a sticker for

-each movement imitated correctly.

-The researcher adds new,

-unfamiliar movements to the game.

-Young children

-struggle to copy the new movements.

-Older children, who have more

-movements in their repertoire...

-..and more experience of playing

-games and interaction...

-..can copy movements

-more accurately.

-The broader the child's repertoire,

-the more movements they can do.

-The ability to learn new movements

-through imitation...

-..is a vital developmental step

-which happens a around nursery age.

-It happens to everyone

-at different times.

-Imitation, like any other skill...

-..demands lots of practise

-and experience.

-To perform a complex movement...

-..the child must learn

-each individual move...

-..and combine them

-into a series of moves.

-Imitation, coupled with our ability

-to adjust movements...

-..through practise and experience

-allows us to perfect the skill.

-Mihela's research shows the

-importance of social environment...

-..to a child's ability to imitate.

-We were able to show how important

-interactions with caregivers are...

-..for development of this skill.

-What we hope to do in the future

-is to look more closely...

-..into what kind of training,

-what kind of interactions...

-..are key for the children...

-..to be able to hit

-those developmental milestones...

-..that we think

-imitation contributes to.

-Our ability to imitate others,

-learn movements...

-..and, ultimately,

-create new movements of our own...

-..is vital during our development.

-It allows us to develop

-more complex skills...

-..such as speech

-and throwing a ball.

-This skill develops

-throughout our lives.

-It's less obvious, but we still

-imitate other people's movements...

-..in social situations

-such as a chat, even in adulthood.

-Watching other people's movements...

-..helps us understand their motives

-or how they feel.

-Tractor.

-We find our voice

-between the age of one and three...

-..and we master life on two legs.

-Our movements

-become more complex...

-..as we watch,

-copy and learn from others.

-Even more importantly perhaps,

-we develop self-awareness.

-We learn who we are

-and we realize that we're unique.

-These new skills prepare us

-for the next developmental steps...

-..which happen during childhood.

-In the next episode, we go to school

-as we learn to read, play...

-..and develop cognitive skills.

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones

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