Early Child Development: First 7 Years

[dropcap]L[/dropcap]earning starts for children even before they are born. They can hear you when you talk. Especially the mother carrying them.

Their learning happens through the interactions and relationships they have with the important people in their lives especially parents, siblings, grandparents, friends, early childhood tutors, and teachers. This interaction is important for early child development.

Pay attention and respond to the child. Because  you’re creating learning patterns, and all the experiences and interactions that the child has stimulates his brain. These experiences form millions of neurotic connections that build the skills she needs for life. Skills like thinking, communicating, managing emotions, and moving are all learnt this way.

Playing is how children discover, explore and learn about the world around them. Through play, children make friends, build confidence, regulate emotions, and learn and develop many skills like sharing. And when children pick up these new skills, they’re building on everything they’ve learned already. The way children play changes as they get older due to maturity.

Babies love interacting with people and discovering their environment. For babies, the best toy they have is you. Because you can talk and also move.

Toddlers and younglings use their imagination to play in creative and dramatic ways, which help them understand their world better. And for school-age children, play is a chance to have fun and unwind from the routines and rules of school.

Exploring through play is very natural for children. Whether your child plays with you, with others, or on his own, your support and encouragement of play is important for his learning.

Don’t discourage them from playing as it contributes positively to early child development. The skills your child develops in these early years build a foundation for all the future learning and development he will do throughout life.

Your child’s development and individual differences are shaped by lots of things: his surroundings, family, school, neighbourhood, teachers, and the wider community. It still takes the village to raise the child. And he inherits characteristics from his parents, such as what he looks like, and some aspects of his physical and mental health.

All these and many other factors combine to build up children’s well-being and skills in their early years.

Supporting your child to develop warm, nurturing, and empathetic relationships during his early years is important. This helps him interact with others, build and use his skills and independence. They can as well manage and bounce back from day-to-day challenges in their early years of life.

Sleep is also an important factor to early child development.

Understanding your child, how he plays, know what he can do on his own, and what he needs support with. This is important to promote their independence and learning and creative problem-solving abilities.

Your child is an amazing learner – a little sponge that soaks up everything it can. The everyday experiences you share with each other all help your child to feel valued, loved, and support their learning and mental development.

The first 7 years of their lives are very critical and they carry over what they have learned over the years into teenage.

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