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Physical development is easy to see.
身体的发育是很容易看到的。
But you can’t open up someone’s head to examine cognitive and brain development.
但你不能打开一个人的脑袋来检查认知和大脑发育。
Let’s take a look at how children learn and think as they grow from babies to teens.
让我们来看看孩子们从婴儿到青少年是如何学习和思考的。
During the first year of life, 1 million neural connections are made every second.
在生命的第一年，每秒钟有100万个神经连接。
These allow infants to recognize human faces, see if a person is happy or sad, and recognize certain voices.
这些功能让婴儿能够识别人脸，判断一个人是快乐还是悲伤，并识别某些声音。
By age 2, children can now fully understand that the face looking back at them is their own.
到两岁时，孩子们现在可以完全明白，回头看他们的脸是他们自己的。
One of the first signs of cognitive growth is acting with intention.
认知发展的第一个迹象就是行动有目的性。
At first, a baby doesn’t know why they kick their legs—they just do it!
起初，婴儿不知道他们为什么踢腿--他们就是踢！
But as their brains grow connections, babies can think about how and why they want to move.
但随着他们大脑连接的增加，婴儿可以思考他们想要移动的方式和原因。
“Serve and return” interactions, like responding to a baby’s babble or cry with words or a hug, are important to shaping a baby’s brain.
“服务和回报”的互动，比如用言语或拥抱回应婴儿的牙牙学语或哭泣，对塑造婴儿的大脑非常重要。
The preschool years are a time of “blossoming” in the brain.
学龄前的几年是大脑“绽放”的时期。
Synaptic density reaches its peak during the third year, this allows children a stronger ability to use the past to interpret the present.
突触密度在第三年达到顶峰，这使得儿童有更强的能力用过去来解释现在。
Children become better at using the past to interpret the present.
孩子们变得更善于用过去来解释现在。
This period is what we might call the golden age of playing pretend.
这段时期可以说是模仿角色的黄金时代。
Pretend play helps support cognitive development and learning, and pretend play is even a stepping stone to the important adult skill of planning.
假装游戏有助于支持认知发展和学习，假装游戏甚至是成人规划技能的垫脚石。
Listening to their favorite stories and retelling them on their own are ways preschoolers develop early literacy skills.
听他们最喜欢的故事并自己复述是学龄前儿童发展早期读写能力的方式。
Play that involves sorting, matching, classifying, or sequencing -- like with buttons or building blocks -- is also important, contributing to emerging literacy and helping to strengthen hand muscles.
包括排序、匹配、分类或排序的游戏--比如用按钮或积木--也很重要，有助于培养识字能力，帮助加强手部肌肉。
The sensitivity of a developing brain is evident throughout the early years.
发育中的大脑的敏感度在早期是显而易见的。
An adverse childhood experience can have an impact on learning and development.
不良的童年经历可能会对学习和发展产生影响。
When a situation is perceived as threatening by the brain, the body produces chemical reactions that affect heart rate, blood pressure, metabolism, and focus.
当大脑感觉到一种情况具有威胁性时，身体会产生化学反应，影响心率、血压、新陈代谢和注意力。
Though these reactions are meant to keep us safe, they can be physically harmful if they happen too often.
虽然这些反应是为了保护我们的安全，但如果发生得太频繁，它们可能会对身体造成伤害。
Childhood adversity actually changes biological and neurological systems.
童年的逆境实际上会改变生物和神经系统。
On the positive side, grade schoolers are also developing new skills of metacognition.
从积极的一面来看，小学学生也在发展新的元认知技能。
It’s important for them to learn to reflect on their own thoughts so they can practice organization and make independent choices.
对他们来说，学会反思自己的想法是很重要的，这样他们才能练习组织和做出独立的选择。
Though the brain may be done growing in size by the teen years, it’s not done developing and maturing.
虽然大脑可能在十几岁时就已经长大了，但它的发育和成熟还没有完成。
The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for skills like planning, prioritization, and impulse control, may not finish developing until the mid- to late-20s.
负责计划、优先排序和冲动控制等技能的前额叶皮质可能要到25岁左右才能发育完成。
There is a heightened reward sensitivity that may cause teens to take more risks, but also motivates them to get out into the world and learn the skills they need to become successful adults.
对奖励的敏感度提高了，这可能会导致青少年承担更多风险，但也会激励他们走出家门，学习成为成功成年人所需的技能。
It’s why the pre-teen and teenage years are full of growth and learning.
这就是为什么青春期前和青少年时期充满了成长和学习。
And learn they must.
他们必须这样做。
These years are all about developing the frontal cortex, which controls reasoning.
这些年都是为了发展控制推理的额叶皮质。
Real learning isn’t easy at any age.
真正的学习在任何年龄都不容易。
Encouraging experimentation and growth are necessary every step of the way.
每一步都需要鼓励试验和成长。
And remember, mistakes are okay -- it’s how we learn.
记住，犯错没什么大不了--这是我们学习的方式。
