Importance of Early Childhood Development

~ Yashika Sehgal 

Relevance of Development During Childhood

A child’s early years form the foundation years for the rest of his life. This is where early development of a child takes place. According to UNICEF, 0-8 years of a child’s life is the most extraordinary period of growth and development of children. Early childhood development consists of both physical and mental development. It is during childhood that a child learns to differentiate between right and wrong. The social, emotional environment that they grow in has a direct effect on them. The babies have a great learning capacity in childhood and their grasping power is also at its highest. So, these moments must be fully utilized.

Role of Parents and Grandparents in the Development of Children

Child development is a shared responsibility of teachers at school and parents as well as grandparents at home. Children spend almost 6 hrs a day at school. This clearly shows that the role of a teacher is significant in their mental, physical, social and emotional development. However, teachers alone cannot do this job. After leaving school, the child spends a lot of time at home. 

A child learns a lot from what he sees around at home. Parents are a child’s first teacher. Different techniques of making the child learn used by parents help them to learn discipline, accepting and overcoming failures, learning constructive criticism and a lot more. Parents must take out time for their children and be involved in whatever he or she is learning at school, help them finish their homework, talk to them about their day at school. They should encourage and support their child so that the child does not get demotivated. This will result in long term effects on the overall growth and development of the child.

It is rightly said that the grandparents play the most important role in a household. They act as anchors and hold the family together at all times. Nobody can teach them things they can teach a child. Children always have a special place in their hearts for their grandparents. They share an unsaid bond of love, care and affection. Grandparents try to teach children through their own experiences in the form of short anecdotes, stories which interest the children a lot.  

A Tech-Savvy World

In a world where children are exposed to gadgets at a very early stage in their life, it has been observed that the dependency of children on these gadgets is increasing at the cost of their early childhood development. According to UNICEF, over 43 per cent of children under the age of five are at risk of not fulfilling their full developmental potential. With the availability of technology, children have access to a lot of information. Most of this information is not of any use for them. However, technology, if used correctly, can help children in their early years. Technology teaches children to improve their decision making and problem-solving skills. It also makes the whole process of learning new things and gaining knowledge interesting for the children with the help of sounds, visuals, animated GIFs etc. 

Impact of Covid

With the advent of the Coronavirus, the world came to a standstill. We were all stuck in our homes. This changed the life of children completely. Their education shifted to an online mode, where the only way left for communicating was through a screen. This has deeply affected children’s lifestyle. The enthusiasm and zeal with which most children used to wake up in the morning for going to school just finished. The excitement of meeting new people, learning new things every day saw a significant decline. Teachers are trying their level best to make this process enjoyable for students by making presentations, showing them movies. But the experience of studying in a school can never be replaced by an online mode of imparting education.

Children are the future of any country. Their early childhood development acts as the base on which their future lies. It must be ensured that the child is taught moral values when he or she is young. The world around us is constantly changing. So, they must never be barred from gaining knowledge and learning about new things.

Must read- Child Poverty