The first five years of your little one’s life are the most important years of child development. It’s safe to say that these years are what define the rest of your child’s growing and adult life.
Having a child is one of the most beautiful blessings anyone can experience, but with it comes a well of responsibility and putting energy into early childhood development is easily the most important thing any parent can do.
In this article, we discuss what happens in the first 5 years of your child’s life and how you, as the parent or guardian, can facilitate the stages of child development.
Child development refers to the changes your child experiences in terms of physical growth as well as cognitive, social, emotional, behavioural, communication and thinking skills.
These skills are all interconnected and are important to develop as they are what allows your child to function and interact socially in a confident and constructive way.
Therefore, paying attention to nurturing these different areas of development ensures that your little one is equipped with all the necessary soft and hard skills to progress through life.
During the first five years, children’s brains develop faster and also more than at any other stage of their lives.
Whatever children experience during these years is what stimulates the connection between the neurons in their brains. Simply put, these experiences are what defines the way in which they process similar experiences in the future.
The things children touch, smell, see, hear and taste as well as their relationships with others will form part of their experiences.
After birth, the first and most important experience children have is their relationship with their caregiver.
Relationships teach children about the world around them while shaping the way they perceive the world.
When children have loving, stimulating relationships with their parents, guardians or caregivers, they learn about love, trust, communication and support.
The relationships children bear witness to are equally important, as they are what teach children how to interact and communicate with others.
Your child’s most valuable relationship is with you, but other important relationships include those with their caretakers, family members, educators and peers.
A child’s primary method of learning and developing during the first five years is through play. Through play, children are physically and mentally stimulated, giving them the opportunity to explore their imaginations and physical capabilities.
Play also allows children to observe their immediate environment, experiment with ideas, learn from their mistakes and find ways to solve problems .
However, it’s important to know that there are certain forms of play that are more developmentally stimulating and beneficial than others.
For example, too much screen time can be detrimental to your child’s development and should be limited to a great extent.
Furthermore, it’s important to establish a balance between supporting and encouraging children during explorative play and allowing them to play without assistance.
When children are left to play on their own, they are able to develop their own method of problem-solving, allowing them to develop skills and build confidence.
We get our nutrients from the food we eat and therefore, it’s important to ensure that your child’s diet consists of nutrient dense food.
Healthy foods provide children with the vitamins, minerals and healthy oils needed for brain development.
Additionally, implementing a healthy diet from early on in life will help your child establish a healthy relationship with food going forward into adulthood.
Physical activity assists with the process of building strong, healthy muscles and bones. It also develops and fine tunes their motor skills and coordination.
Furthermore, children who are taught to be active from early on are more likely to continue being physically active, healthy and fit as adults.
Paying attention to child development, especially during the first 5 years of your child’s life, is the single most important task you have as a parent.
A well-developed child becomes a well-rounded adult who is equipped with confidence and is able to make a positive contribution to society.
As a parent, it’s important for you to understand that children develop at different paces, but if you are concerned about where your child is in their age-related development, please feel free to contact us.
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