Early Child Development
child development guidance

early child development guidance
This stage is a crucial phase. The theory of Cognitive Development can be very informative on what a child can and cannot be expected to do at the different stages (or age) of growth.

in the early child development guidance. 
Children are NOT miniature adults; their brains are net as well developed as the adult brain. The human brain is not fully developed in an early stage until late adolescence or in the case of males sometimes early adulthood. The adult brain is therefore far superior to a child's brain and can perform far more complex functions. As such the thinking faculties of adults are more developed and sophisticated than children's. We often expect children to think like adults when they are not yet capable of doing so. For example, early child developmental psychologists of all four ‘grand’ theories (Behaviorism, Social Learning Theory, Piaget's Stage Theory, and Social Constructivism) recognize that a child is not able to think logically until the age of about seven.

Trying to reason with toddlers is therefore not only futile but reveals the ignorance of the adults who are trying to reason with them.

It is important that parents understand and know what to expect from their child as they develop through the different stages of growth and to be sure that the expectations they may have for their child at a given age are realistic. Read more .. Early Child Development Principles

early child development, child development, child development guidance

in early child development guidance
Setting limits: Helping Children Learn self-Regulation

This is essentially a major part of discipline and probably one of the most difficult responsibilities of parents. Yet, training children in this aspect from an early age is one of the greatest favors a parent can do for his child. Self-regulation is a deep, internal mechanism that enables children as well as adults to engage in mindful, intentional, and thoughtful behaviors. Self- regulation has two sides to it:

Firstly, it involves the ability to control one's impulses and to stop doing something if needed. For example, in a classroom situation a child is able to resist his immediate inclination to blurt out the answer when the teacher poses a question to another child.

Secondly, self-regulation involves the capacity to do something (even if one doesn't want to do it) because it is needed. For example, a child is able to return all books and toys to their designated places after using them even though he may be in a hurry or 'toes not feel like doing it'. Creating the right conditions for early child development is likely to be more effective and less costly than addressing problems at a later stage.

Self-regulated children can delay gratification and suppress their immediate impulses enough to think ahead to the possible consequences of their action or to consider alternative actions that would be more appropriate.
For example, although most children are aware that in an argument they are supposed to use words only instead of fighting, only children who have acquired a certain level of self-regulation are able to do so. Such children are generally more mature, have a healthier self-esteem, and age more self-directed. In fact self-regulation is a mark of maturity and those lacking self- regulation are often considered childish or immature. Furthermore, research shows that children's self-regulation behaviors in the early years predict their school achievement in reading and mathematics better than their IQ scores.

early child development, child development, child development guidance

The ability to both inhibit one behavior and engage in a particular behavior on demand is a skill used not just in social interactions (emotional self- regulation) but in thinking (cognitive self-regulation) as well. Emotional self-regulation and cognitive self-regulation seem to have the same neural roots for early years; thus, as children grow older and their brains develop, they can increasingly take control of both their thinking and their feelings. Doing this in a regular basis develops a child's self-regulation in the same way that muscles develop with regular training. On the other hand, if children do not systematically engage in self-regulatory behaviors at a young age, the corresponding brain areas may not develop to their full potential.

Read more poems and nursery rhymes to your toddlers.


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