Why the Early Years Matter and How to Support Children from Birth through Five and Beyond

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Do you remember your early childhood? How did you experience childhood? What three things came to mind? Birth through five years are essential in building a foundation for life and that is where an early learning program comes in. An imprint is left for lifelong learning. Babies, toddlers and preschoolers are born ready to take in the love of their new people, environment, and information. When a child is born they are “making one million neural connections per second” according to Zero to Three.

These connections are made strong by daily continuous and consistent positive experiences and routines. Positive experiences correlate to positive outcomes in the long run of a marathon in a child’s life. A child will learn to trust or distrust people based on their early experiences in childhood. Most of all, grown ups support children as they gain the foundation needed for thriving in their life after childhood. 

How do we do this? How do we support children? It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3 and A, B, C as the Jackson 5 sang about. Here is an awesome resource that gives age-by-age tips, strategies and activities for children as you help them learn and grow. 

https://www.pbs.org/parents/authors/zero-to-three

It focuses on the whole child centering on emotions and self-awareness, social skills, character, literacy, math, science and the creative arts. 

So, what three things did you think about when it came to how you experienced your childhood? Our three are play, love and care for self, others and the environment. List the top three things that remind you of your childhood. Share in the comments below. 

Meet children where they are in life’s journey. Most of all, care and inspire them to care and the rest handles itself. 

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