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How Important is Early Childhood Education?
March 3, 2023
It is almost impossible to overstate the importance of early childhood education in setting the foundations for your child’s later success in life. The value of early childhood education has been hotly debated over the past few years, but increasingly, more studies are highlighting that early childhood education is crucial and indeed, necessary, for your child’s healthy development and growth.
Learning in the early years
The reason why early childhood education is of utmost importance is because it capitalises upon a prime period in your child’s life; a period that is ripe for learning and growth. According to research, most learning happens in the first three years of your child’s life. Why is that so?
Children’s brains develop in spurts, otherwise known as critical periods. The first critical period occurs when they are around two years old. At the beginning of this period, the number of connections, known as synapses, between brain cells doubles. In other words, a two-year-old child would have twice the number of synapses as adults.
Now here’s the fascinating bit: these synapses are places where learning occurs. Having twice as many synapses indicates that the brain is able to learn faster than at any other time in their life. As such, this is the best period to invest in quality early childhood education to capitalise upon the enhanced learning speed and set your child up for success.
Lasting benefits of early childhood education
Literacy and numeracy skills
Based on these findings, it is of no surprise that further research has found that children who attend quality preschool programmes thrive better in kindergarten than children who do not.
According to the data, children who had some preschool experience the year before kindergarten at a child care center did better on math and reading assessments than those who did not enter preschool.
Beyond the tangible academic benefits that early childhood education brings, it fundamentally fosters an inherent and lasting love of learning within children, and this will serve them well in future years.
Creativity
Through play and curated activities, children develop their creativity, which in turn boosts mental growth and future problem-solving skills. Quality preschool programmes would incorporate creative play and activities such as drama, arts and crafts, music and dance, to boost your child’s creative faculties.
Socialisation
Early childhood education teaches children pro-social behaviour and other social skills. They are exposed to key skills such as listening and speaking, and will learn how to express their emotions and collaborate with their peers.
In a preschool environment, children are further encouraged to establish friendships with peers who are different from themselves. A quality preschool programme helps to provide opportunities for positive social interaction, development of emotional intelligence and foster pro-social behaviour.
Jumpstarting your child’s learning journey
At the heart of it, quality early childhood education programmes are essential to unlock your child’s inherent potential for learning and growth to nurture intelligent and well-rounded thinkers. This will set the foundation for their future success in school and beyond.
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