Center on the Developing Child Harvard University
Science tells us that experiences early in life may have long-term consequences for a child’s learning, behavior and both physical and mental health.
Some types of “positive stress” in a child’s life (overcoming the challenges and frustrations of learning a new, difficult task, for instance) can be beneficial. On the other hand, severe, uncontrollable, chronic adversity (defined as “toxic stress” ) can produce detrimental effects on developing brain architecture as well as on the chemical and physiological systems that help an individual adapt to stressful events.
July 7, 2005