Child development is a series of physical, intellectual, and emotional changes and behaviors that occur in children as they thrive. During development, children go through a series of developmental steps that make them ready for independent adult life. It usually refers to the period from birth to 5 years of age.
Early childhood offers a critical window of opportunity to shape the trajectory of a child’s holistic development and build a foundation for their future. For children to achieve their full potential, as is their human right, they need health care and nutrition, protection from harm and a sense of security, opportunities for early learning, and responsive caregiving – like talking, singing, and playing – with parents and caregivers who love them. All of this is needed to nourish developing brains and fuel growing bodies.
The skills that children acquire in each domain of development are also known as developmental milestones. More simply, these milestones include skills that a child needs to develop in order to function in each domain properly (e.g. crawling, walking, talking, smiling, reading, etc). It is essential to mention that milestones follow a predictable course in children and the later skills always build on previous ones achieved. It is essential to mention that a child can not „skip“ a certain milestone and proceed with a more complex skill, without fully developing a more simple one.
Being a caregiver is a multifaceted, time-sensitive, and ever-evolving job, in which each element – from proper feeding and health checkups to singing and playing, from cuddling and creating stable routines to protecting children from harm – is indispensable for babies and young children to not just survive, but reach their full potential and thrive. There are a number of things that parents can do in their home environment that can facilitate the development of the child. The recommendations can be found it the guidebook (link to guidebook).
Protective factors are those conditions that lead to a higher likelihood of positive outcomes – the things we typically want for our children. Some examples of protective factors include good social inclusion, accessible healthcare and social care systems, good financial status, positive parenting practices, etc.
The early interventions can be described as a social model that always contains pedagogical, medical-therapeutic, and social elements provided to families in need. It includes the main areas of social development such as education, health, nutrition, sanitation system, and social protection and care.
The main difference that distinguishes EIs from traditional medical and rehabilitation services is that the latter is mainly or exclusively focused on the main difficulties in child development. On the contrary, EIs are aimed at the comprehensive development of the child and families, with special emphasis on areas of greatest need. EIs also focus on child’s individual strengths and work to empower them as much as possible, which is an entirely new concept compared to traditional interventions.
EI is usually provided by the transdisciplinary, interdepartmental Early Intervention Team which consists of different professionals that make up a unique team that is gathered around the families. These professionals are usually derived from three systems: the healthcare system, the system of education, and the system of social protection. Each team has a primary care provider (PCP) who is in charge of a certain family and its needs. The EI teams base their work on upgrading the strengths of the families and helping the families to prioritize their needs.
The recommendations for these parents are similar to the general recommendations based on positive parenting practices. Some positive parenting practices work well across diverse families and in diverse settings when providing the care that children need to be happy and healthy and to grow and develop well. The research recommends these key aspects which parents can do to support their child’s healthy development:
- Responding to children in a predictable way
- Showing warmth and sensitivity
- Having routines and household rules
- Sharing books and talking with children
- Supporting health and safety
- Using appropriate discipline without harshness
Parents, grandparents, early childhood providers, and other caregivers can participate in developmental monitoring, which observes how your child grows and changes over time and whether your child meets the typical developmental milestones in playing, learning, speaking, behaving, and moving. Developmental screening takes a closer look at how your child is developing. A missed milestone could be a sign of a problem.
If your child is not meeting the milestones for their age, or you are concerned about your child’s development, talk with your child’s doctor and share your concerns. Don’t wait! The child’s doctor, nurse, or another specialist might give your child a brief test, or you will complete a questionnaire about your child that can help you get some answers.
Play is the principal way of learning in the first years of life. It also provides the child opportunities to observe, explore and solve problems. Play is a great way to build relationships. The play sends the child the most important message: “You are important to me!” This message helps children learn about who they are and where they fit in the world. Plenty of time spent interacting with their caregivers helps children to acquire life skills, including communicating, thinking, solving problems, moving and being with other people and children. Games can involve math, motor skills, and taking turns. Best of all, since play can be fun for you too, it’s a great chance to build a strong relationship!
It’s of key importance for parents to take care of their own mental health. Looking after themselves physically, mentally and emotionally is good for them and their children. When the caregiver is well, they can provide their loving attention to their children and help them thrive. The caregivers should look for help especially if they’re feeling stressed, anxious or angry. There are many people who can support them and their child, including emotional partners, friends, relatives, child and family health nurse and GP.
Your child learns best by actively engaging with their environment. This can include activities such as:
- Observation: looking at others faces and responding to their voices
- Listening: listening to sounds, responding to them by making their own sounds and singing
- Exploring: putting things in their mouth, shaking things and turning things around
- Asking questions: ‘But why?’, ‘What is this?’
- Sensory experiences: experimenting with textures, objects and materials like water, sand or dirt; doing things that stimulate their senses – touch, taste, smell, vision and hearing.
- Construction: building things from objects like cardboard boxes or toy blocks
Some children may find socializing more difficult than others. If your child struggles or seems reluctant to be with other people, they may need some support to learn social skills. There are some things you can do to help:
- Practice talking
- Listen and take turns
- Show importance of body language
- Teach them about personal space
- Develop their emotional skills
- Find moments for learning in play routines
