A family sits around the dinner table, each member in deep concentration, attentively watching and listening to what is in front of them. The only issue is that they are not communicating with one another, but are on their individual electronic devices.

It has become all too common for some families to spend time together without communicating with each other. Young children play hand-held computer games and visit social media websites on their tablets, while primary carers spend time online or talking on their mobile phones.

It’s just one way that, as a society, we are less directly involved with our children than we once were. Families are now busier; the competition for our time is greater. Younger children are carted off to ever more clubs and parents are increasingly out of the home or distracted. Meanwhile, in most prams, children face away from the parent - and even when they don’t, the allure of chatting to others or talking on a mobile phone can often take attention away from the child.

Parents are increasingly out of the home or distracted

What impact does this have? Neuroscience shows that the brain is at its most malleable from birth to three years, with synaptic activity being at its most prolific during this time. Typically, at birth, a baby’s brain contains roughly 86 billion neurons and each of these can make up to 10,000 connections with neighbouring neurons, according to Azevedo et al (see further reading box, below).

This, however, is not a given. The developing brain is significantly sensitive to input from primary relationships, interactions and the environment. From a biological and scientific perspective, humans are wired for emotional and social connection from birth. The first three years of life are often referred to as a “sensitive period”.

‘On the same wavelength’

The changes that happen in the brain during these first tender years become the permanent foundation upon which all later brain function is built. For the brain’s neural networks to develop normally during this sensitive period, a child needs responsive and timely input. For example, it is during face-to-face interactions that babies and children practise the art of conversation and build trust in their parents/caregivers.

Many neuroscientific studies have shown that face-to-face interaction increases the quality of communication, as well as interbrain correlated activity, suggesting that there is some literal truth to the expression “we are on the same wavelength” (see further reading). They suggest that face-to-face communication has important neural and behavioural features that other types of communication cannot rival. For example, research studies on infant brain development and language acquisition consistently show that meaningful interactions in “real time” are vital in facilitating concentration, language and communication.

Hence, the impact of our gradual replacement of interaction with our children with other interactions - digital, work, social - has the potential to be highly damaging. This is a key factor in the all-too-common tendency for children to enter school without the basic skills to communicate (including the ability to read emotions in others) and to regulate their own emotions.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reminds us: “It is important to emphasise to parents that the higher-order thinking skills and executive functions essential for school success, such as task persistence, impulse control, emotion regulation and creative, flexible thinking, are best taught through unstructured and social (not digital) play, as well as responsive parent-child interactions”.

The higher-order skills referred to reside in the prefrontal cortex, which is in the frontal lobe of a child’s brain; these skills take longer to acquire than other skills and require a lot of real-life practice, repetition and adult guidance to embed and develop.

How teachers can help

What can teachers do when faced with children who have lacked the necessary interactions in the home environment? Teachers are central to helping young children through their planning and provision of environments and experiences that encourage children to explore and learn in their own unique ways. Here are some specific ideas for how to do that.

* Swap roles. Adults often bemoan the onset of endless “why?” questions - we need to learn from children and do likewise.

* Raise the issue of screen time with parents. This will provide insight into how much shared and unsupervised screen time children have. You can also talk through ways to reduce this - for both children and parents.

* Consider how your setting can incorporate findings from educational neuroscience to inform daily practice.

* Engage in sustained shared thinking with all children. This enquiry and experiential learning can help to improve children’s concentration, communication and ability to engage in joint problem-solving.

* Make sure all staff ask open-ended questions to all children and that these are meaningful to their experiences.

* Build in activities (not homework!) for parents to do with their child at home.

* Provide opportunities and resources for activities such as role play, in which children can build on their language and communication skills.

* Reflect on your provision for “quiet time”. Is sufficient time and space created to encourage young children to pause and reflect away from distractions?

* Revisit the attachment-aware practices that exist in your setting - how could these be improved in light of children’s behaviour and experiences?

One thing I am quite certain of is that evidence from disciplines such as neuroscience can provide useful insight into children’s developing brains and how they are being altered by a lack of quality interactions and environments.

John Dowling (see further reading) expresses the pressing need for findings from neuroscience to better inform parenting, education and care: “The challenge of understanding how the brain develops and how that understanding might help in raising the next generations to the best of our and their abilities is key to the future of humankind.”

Mine Conkbayir is the author of Early Childhood and Neuroscience, which will be published by Bloomsbury in January 2017, and is doing a PhD in early childhood education and neuroscience