SIGNIFICANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

 Why early childhood matters

 A child's childhood can have lifelong physical, social and emotional consequences. Positive experiences and environments can set a young child on a strong path in life, but traumatic experiences or circumstances during the formative years can have lasting, damaging effects. Early childhood experiences, from birth to age 8, influence the development of brain structures that form the basis of all future learning, behavior and health.

 A strong foundation helps children develop the skills they need to become functioning adults. In particular, the period from birth to age 3 is a period of rapid brain development, when billions of connections are formed between individual neurons. Mechanisms and interventions to support this development must be available from birth. 

Children's experiences during early childhood play an important role in brain development. Positive factors, especially stable and responsible relationships with parents and other adults, as well as the influence of a safe and supportive environment, contribute to positive development. If the brain development of infants and young children is fully supported, they are more likely to achieve milestones for personal and community success in the future.

Key areas of early child development

 Early childhood development is easier to understand if you break it down into learning categories. The CDC divides early learning skills into four major areas: one social, emotional Language/Communication Movement/Physical Development Cognition (reading, thinking, problem solving) For healthy children, all of these areas are important for growth and development.

 These areas of growth intersect when we look at learning environments. For example, social and emotional awareness often grows through language and communication during early childhood. Alternatively, the baby can solve problems and make cognitive discoveries through movement and physical growth.

 

But understanding development holistically shows that teaching children is about more than letters and numbers. "We often focus on creating a language-rich environment using colors, numbers and shapes, but neglect building children's emotional vocabulary," says Dr. Jareth. Missing important elements such as expressing emotions can make learning difficult for young students. “Because emotional expression is often associated with behavioral problems in young children, ECE professionals need to understand the full spectrum of early childhood development,” says Dr. Jareth. 

There are certain stages in a child's development that require attention (such as starting to form sentences or learning to walk), but early education experts warn that not all children with the condition can be treated. "Understand that development does not occur in an orderly, linear fashion as described in textbooks or charts," says Dr. Jareth arrived. "It is not uniform and varies from child to child, even within the same family." She advises early childhood professionals to understand timelines and milestones while learning how development works on a more holistic level.