Early Childhood Development
Early Childhood Development
Introduction
From conception until the age of eight years, early childhood development (ECD) is a period of fast and significant growth. Adequate nutrition, appropriate health care, protection, play, and early education are all crucial for children’s physical, cognitive, linguistic, and social-emotional development. Early interactions with parents and early learning experiences significantly impact a child’s future physical, mental, emotional, and social development. The finest investment we can make as a society in guaranteeing children’s future success is to optimize their early years. In this article, I’ll look at some similar articles about early childhood development and offer my thoughts on them at the end.
Early childhood development (especially from birth to three years old) lays the foundation for academic success, economic productivity, civic engagement, long-term health, healthy communities, and effective parenting of the next generation. According to strong research, children learn more throughout their first six years of life than they do at any other time in their lives. The pace of learning declines beyond the first six years. You’re building the groundwork for a child’s future learning and achievement in school and their whole life. The brain develops the most throughout the first six years of a child’s life. Neurons are evolving at a faster rate than they have ever been before.
According to World Health Organization (2020), whatever a youngster learns throughout their early years of life will stay with them. As a result, a youngster may face issues in adulthood if they are exposed to harsh and dangerous situations. They discover that their troubles are linked to their early experiences via counselling. Because the first few years have such a significant influence, you must create a strong foundation of love, support, and pleasure. It will have a substantial impact on their future lives and relationships. According to research, there is a significant link between a child’s early growth and future success. Children may experience learning challenges in various instances. The earlier you recognize a problem, the more likely it is to be treated successfully. You will be able to give more assistance if you can detect your child’s difficulties early on. You may speak with a professional and receive an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan. Early therapy can sometimes help fix a problem before it gets more serious. The sooner you recognize a learning issue in your child, the better.
The more pleasant experiences a youngster gets as a child, the more positive view they will acquire and the more hopeful they will be despite their circumstances. When a youngster excels at anything early in life, it motivates them to try again and boosts their self-esteem. As a result of the rise in confidence, they will attempt new activities and pursue new interests. Early childhood development is influenced by personality, much like every other area of life (Richter, et al., 2020). Babies begin to develop a sense of self and nature even before birth. Each event they have after they are born shapes and forms their personality somehow. Make careful to emphasize your child’s work rather than their character when you praise them. “I noticed how hard you worked on that,” rather than “you are brilliant,” says the speaker. This will enable kids to perceive themselves in the best possible light and build stronger personalities.
Your relationship with your child, as a parent, will be their first encounter with a relationship. Your relationship may be one of just a handful throughout the early years if they start school or preschool later. The way you conduct your connection with your child will impact how healthy their future relationships will be. They’ll keep an eye on you and take notes on everything you do. They will learn to interact and build good ties with others if they are in a healthy relationship. On the other hand, the reverse is also true. The way you interact with your child will teach them how to interact with others. Early childhood development has a significant influence on subsequent school learning ability. If children do not grow up in a healthy environment, they may have considerable difficulties studying in school. What youngsters learn at home and in preschool throughout their early years has a significant influence on the types of learners they become in formal schooling. They’ll have mastered the fundamentals and the capacity to listen and concentrate in class.
Because newborns cannot communicate, they must rely on their perceptions and emotions to learn. They have an incredible ability to pick up on their mother’s and caregiver’s feelings. When you’re sad or worried, your baby senses it and reacts accordingly. They’re also fantastic at detecting social signs. If they notice you are depressed, they will get depressed as well. When you grin at them, they immediately return your smile. That is their only means of communication in the absence of language. They will learn and develop healthy social and emotional health if their home is a safe and appealing place. They will realize that there are various emotions and that it is OK to experience them. Early childhood is the time to lay the groundwork for the rest of their lives, not just in social and emotional development but also in all areas.
The physical health of a kid is also shaped by early childhood development. Brushing children’s teeth from the time they have their first tooth can help them maintain good personal hygiene (Dankiw, et al., 2020). A youngster who grows up in a healthy family is more likely to grow up to be healthy. Make it a point to instil good behaviours in children from a young age. From a young age, you may assist your child in developing a passion for learning. They will like school and the learning process if you promote it. If you don’t, they can have a tougher time in school. Make it entertaining and thrilling for your child while teaching them how to accomplish anything. This will help kids understand that learning should be enjoyable. Encourage children not to give up if they fail at anything they’re trying to learn but try again. The brain of a youngster is like a sponge. Even at such an early age, they desire to learn. They are interested in everything. What your youngster acquires in their first several years on earth will significantly influence their future.
Conclusion
Finally, from the reviewed articles above, we can see that early childhood provides a key window of opportunity for shaping a child’s holistic development and laying the groundwork for their future. Children require health care and nourishment, protection from danger and a feeling of safety, chances for childhood development, and responsive parenting – such as talking, singing, and entertaining – with parents and guardians who love them to reach their full capacity, as is their basic dignity. All of this is required to feed expanding bodies and nurture developing brains.
As seen in the data provided by Richter, et al., children worldwide are growing up in violent, polluted settings and under great stress because they are not getting the nourishment or medical services they require. They miss out on learning chances and lack the engagement their growing brains need to thrive. In these situations, their parents and care providers struggle to find the time, finances, and resources necessary to deliver caring care to their children. Many millions of the world’s most vulnerable children, including those living in poverty or impacted by violence and catastrophes, children on the move, children from marginalized groups, and children with disabilities, routinely lose out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. When youngsters lose out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, they pay the price of lost potential by dying before reaching maturity or living a life of poor physical and mental health, making it impossible to study and, as a result, to earn a living. And we’re all going to pay the price. That’s the reason the World Health Organization sets some of the guidelines to be followed to improve early childhood development. Failure to give children the greatest possible start in life generates cycles of poverty and disadvantage that can last decades, eroding our society’s strength and stability.
References
Dankiw, K. A., Tsiros, M. D., Baldock, K. L., & Kumar, S. (2020). The impacts of unstructured nature play on health in early childhood development: A systematic review. Plos one, 15(2), e0229006.
Richter, L. M., Cappa, C., Issa, G., Lu, C., Petrowski, N., & Naicker, S. N. (2020). Data for action on early childhood development. The Lancet, 396(10265), 1784-1786.
World Health Organization. (2020). Improving early childhood development: WHO guideline. World Health Organization.