One day, they’re a wobbly mess; the next, they’re running through the halls. Or their gibberish turns to full sentences seemingly overnight. Children undoubtedly develop new skills quickly, all while learning how to effectively navigate a world that is strange and new to them. Adults, by contrast, may take many years to learn a new language or master certain elements of mathematics — if they do at all.
So, why do children learn so quickly? Is it simply a necessity, or is a child’s brain more capable of taking in new information than an adult’s brain is?
“It is a common way of thinking that ‘children are like sponges’ and have the magical ability to learn new skills faster than an adult, but there are some misconceptions here,” Debbie Ravenscroft(opens in new tab), a senior lecturer in early childhood studies at the University of Chester in the U.K., told Live Science in an email. “A child’s cognitive development is age-related and, naturally, children perform worse than their older peers in most areas. However, there are times when being young confers an advantage, and this clusters around their earliest years.”
This advantage is largely due to neuroplasticity, meaning the brain’s ability to form and change its connections, pathways and wiring based on experiences. Neuroplasticity is what gives children the capacity to learn — and, if necessary, unlearn — habits, routines, approaches and actions very quickly. This ability is most constant and rapid before a child’s fifth birthday(opens in new tab), when much of what they encounter or experience is novel.
“This [ability to learn quickly] is connected to several areas, including plasticity, their experiences with adults, their environment, and their biological drive to explore,” Ravenscroft said. “Childhood is a place where children spend their time catching up with adults’ more sophisticated abilities.”
Language acquisition, in particular, is an area where children often have a huge advantage over adults, Ravenscroft noted. This is largely because “babies are able to tune in to the rhythm and sounds used in their native language, and can therefore become competent and fluent speakers by the age of four.” This ability can help young children learn a second or third language with apparent ease, Ravenscroft said.
