It is essential for children to learn something new every day; it sharpens their thinking skills and stimulates their inquisitive natures!
They have a blast learning! To spark their interest, here are some fun facts about kids!
1. Children have 300 bones compared to 207 for adults.
The human skeleton is composed of interconnected bones that provide structural support, enable locomotion, motor abilities and protect vital organs. They also produce cells essential for survival such as bone marrow and nerves.
The number of bones in a human skeleton can vary due to genetics and environmental influences such as diet, age and fitness level. On average, there are 206 bones in an adult human skull; however, some individuals may have slightly higher or lower counts.
At birth, children possess more than 300 bones; however, some of these fuse together into larger ones as they mature into adults. Although this is generally beneficial, it does mean that some bones may not be as large or strong as they should be by adulthood.
The ideal number of bones to name is likely more than 300, though it’s close. A child may have anywhere from 270 to 206 individual bones depending on their size; any extra tiny sesamoid and sutural bones won’t add up much weight in terms of mass though! To be certain, get an X-Ray taken and see for yourself!
2. Children’s brains are so plastic that they can learn several languages simultaneously without difficulty.
Kids have an incredible advantage when it comes to mastering languages: their brains are so plastic. Studies show they possess up to 50% more connections in their cerebral cortexes than adults do!
Children who learn two or more languages tend to be able to switch between them effortlessly, making them better at multitasking and remembering information.
As is well-known, for a child to learn a new language they must practice it several times over an extended period of time in order to create neural connections that will eventually enable them to master it. Therefore, consistency is key and even if you only have minutes each day to work on it, make sure they practice regularly.
Similar research has indicated that when children struggle to read, it may be due to an inability of their auditory processing speed to process speech sounds simultaneously.
Children who struggle with their language abilities should begin early and focus on honing these essential language abilities. Doing so will enable them to read more fluently, ultimately leading to improved academic success.
Therefore, enrolling your child in a language learning program is recommended. This is especially beneficial if they have any type of learning difficulty such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism or Dyslexia. Involving them in an educational setting will motivate and excite them about it; ultimately helping them progress more quickly.
3. Children are born without kneecaps.
New parents often ponder about a variety of things, but one common one is whether babies have kneecaps. This makes sense since babies’ joints tend to be much softer than those of adults or older children and could easily bend or fracture under stress.
Unfortunately, no, babies do not born with bony kneecaps – these are actually made up of cartilage that will only mineralize into bones around age four or six.
Cartilage is flexible and helps babies get used to crawling around, bumping into things, and learning how to move independently. It also gives them the strength to walk or climb until their kneecaps become strong enough that they can stand up unaided.
When a baby’s kneecap is made up of cartilage, it’s referred to as the patella (also known as the front bone in dogs and cats). Soft cartilage begins forming during the fourth month of life in dogs and cats and gradually transforms into irregular patches of bone over time until it eventually forms an adult-sized kneecap by 10-12 years old.
But there can be issues during ossification in babies. For instance, if a baby’s patella doesn’t fully fuse or the two bones in their knee cap don’t line up correctly, they may experience dislocation or fracture of that bone (known as patellar instability). This condition causes significant pain in the knee as they grow older, so having your child examined by a doctor is recommended; surgery may be needed to put it back in its proper place.
4. Children’s eyes are full-grown at birth.
Eyes play an essential role in human vision. As infants develop, their shape changes to help them recognize objects and their environment more clearly. Furthermore, their retinas develop new areas of the brain responsible for processing visual images.
Eye growth in infants typically occurs during two major phases: the first two years of life and around puberty. During these times, eyes typically grow by seven millimeters annually in most children.
These periods make sense, given that newborn eyes measure approximately 16.5 millimeters in length (compared to an adult’s eyeball which measures 24 millimeters). Furthermore, the growth spurts during the first and second years of life provide babies with time to adjust outside the womb.
The next significant milestone is visual acuity, or the capacity to perceive things clearly. At this age, babies can follow moving objects and recognize faces.
This milestone should be completed during a baby’s initial eye exam, which should occur by 6 months old.
Eye color in babies is determined by melanin, a substance produced naturally during development. Typically, newborns are born with light-colored eyes (blue, green or grayish), but these colors may change over time due to changes in melanin production levels.
5. Children have accents when they cry.
New research has revealed that newborn babies, even before they speak their first words, often exhibit accents due to the sounds they heard while still in the womb.
In a study, German researchers compared the cries of 60 healthy newborns born to French-speaking mothers and German ones. They discovered that the French babies’ wails had an ascending tone while those from Germany had a falling one.
Dr Kathleen Wermke of the Center for Prespeech Development and Developmental Disorders at the University of Wurzburg in Germany led this study. Tonal languages typically possess higher “intra-utterance frequency variation” as well as more intricate melodic patterns than non-tonal languages like Swedish.
It is believed that newborns who hear their mother speak a tonal language tend to imitate it, in an effort to strengthen the bond between them and their parents. Furthermore, Cameroonian babies born to Nso mothers cried with more melodic tones than German families’ babies did.
These findings confirm that infants’ cries are their initial attempts at communication with their parents. Furthermore, an acoustic analysis revealed that babies from Mandarin-speaking Chinese and Nso families cried with more complex melodies than their German counterparts did.
It is an unexpected discovery that babies are supposed to be in a state of dress rehearsal while still in the womb, listening intently and processing all information they pick up from their environment.