If You Don’t Use It, You Lose It: How Early Brain Development Works in Babies?
- Jeffrin Leonard
- Nov 17
- 3 min read
Years ago, people used to say, “If you don’t use your brain, it will rust.” Turns out, they were right to an extent
In the first five years, early brain development in babies happens at a speed that never happens later in life. In the first years of life, the brain is like a construction site running at full speed. Millions of tiny neural connections form every second, building an incredible network of pathways at a high speed.
But building alone is not enough. Just like a city road construction that clears unused roads to move traffic smoothly, the brain begins its own clean-up process called synaptic pruning.
This is the brain’s way of keeping what matters and letting go of what doesn’t. Neural connections that are used often, like hearing a parent’s voice, playing, or exploring get stronger. And those neural connections which are not used or stays quiet slowly fade away. It’s often referred as “nature’s rule of use it or lose it.”
What Is Happening Inside the Brain?
Synaptic pruning is one of the most important processes in early brain development in babies. Think of a gardener trimming a tree. By cutting off weak branches, the gardener allows the healthy ones to grow stronger. The brain does something very similar. It starts by creating far more neural connections than it needs and then begins refining them based on experience.
Every time a baby sees, touches, listens, or moves, the brain decides which pathways to keep. The more an experience repeats, the more those neural highways are reinforced. The ones that are not used get quietly cleared out.
It’s not a loss. It’s a sign of efficiency the brain’s way of making sure energy flows where it’s needed most.
When and Where It Happens?
Synaptic pruning doesn’t happen all at once. Each part of the brain has its own timing and purpose.
For example, In the visual cortex, Synaptic pruning peaks around eight months from the birth. Every time a baby watches a face, follows light, or notices movement, the brain decides which visual circuits are worth keeping.
And, In the prefrontal cortex, which handles planning, attention, and self-control, Synaptic pruning peaks much later around ages four to five and continues into the teenage years. This slower refinement helps children gradually build focus, patience, and emotional control.
So, every small act every word spoken, every comforting touch, every shared smile, every early simulation becomes a signal to the brain that says, “This is important. Keep this connection.”
Why It Matters?
Synaptic Pruning may sound like a loss, but it’s actually the opposite. Without it, the brain would be cluttered with unused connections, making learning and thinking slower. This process of elimination is a key to form a healthy and adaptive brain
By clearing out the unnecessary, the brain becomes sharper, faster, and more efficient. That’s why everyday repetition, play, and responsive caregiving matter so deeply.
When parents talk, play, and comfort their child, those experiences are literally sculpting the brain’s wiring. Each repeated experience builds stronger circuits for learning, confidence, and emotional balance. When a child is born, the brain opens up like a window of endless connections. In the first few years, more than a thousand new neural connections form every second a speed that never happens again in life. But over time, the brain keeps only what is used often, what is stimulated consistently, and what is strengthened through loving connection.
When certain experiences are not repeated or stimulated like talking, playing, or responding to a child’s cues those unused connections fade away. If this happens for long periods, it can lead to developmental delays because the brain missed the practice it needed to grow in those areas. This simple rule ‘use it or lose it’ is at the heart of early brain development in babies
Parent’s Bay:
Synaptic pruning highlights us that early experiences are not just about adding new skills they’re about deciding which ones stay for life.
So, when your child asks you to read stories again, or sings the same song for the hundredth time, don’t think of it as repetition. Think of it as reinforcement. Their brain is saying, “I need this again, I'm strengthening it.” The neural networks that shape the life of you child is getting strengthened here
Every loving moment, every repeated word, every act of play, it's all shaping the brain’s architecture for focus, creativity, and resilience.
So interact and engage with your child a lot, especially in the early years.
Every insight we share at Parentzo comes from science, shaped with care for parents.
To know more: Read the studies below to dive deeper into the science behind this topic.
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