EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT IMPORTANCE

• Child development is a base for community development and economic development, as capable children become the foundation of a sustainable society. They bring new inovative ideas and can do something different for society. One individual person can also change the society so it is extremely important for parents/primary schools/institutions to focus on early childhood development as these children are future leaders.
Today’s children will become tomorrow’s citizens, workers, and parents. When we fail to provide children with what they need to build a strong founda¬tion for healthy and productive lives, we put our future prosperity and security at risk.
When we invest wisely in children and families, the next generation will pay that back through a lifetime of productivity and responsible citizenship. Therefore it is very important to focus today on early childhood development to make our country productive.

Concepts of Development
Concept 1: Child development is a foundation for community develop¬ment and economic development, as capable children become the foundation of a prosperous and sustainable society. Parents/institutions/teachers should therefore focus on physical, mental, cognitive development of a child.
Concept 2: Brains are built over time.
The basic architecture of the brain is constructed through an ongoing process that begins before birth and continues into adulthood.
Implications for Policy and Practice
• When systems are put in place to monitor the development of all children continuously over time, problems that require attention can be identified early and appropriate responses can be made. This can be accomplished by appropriately trained physicians, nurse practitioners, or developmental specialists within the context of regular health care,
Concept 3: The interactive influences of genes and experience literally shape the architecture of the developing brain, and the active ingredient is the “serve and return” nature of children’s engagement in relationships with their parents and other caregivers in their family or community.
Concept 4: Both brain architecture and developing abilities are built “from the bottom up,” with simple circuits and skills providing the scaffolding for more advanced circuits and skills over time.
Concept 5: Cognitive, emotional, and social capabilities are inextricably intertwined throughout the life course.
Concept 6: Toxic stress in early childhood is associated with persistent effects on the nervous system and stress hormone systems that can damage developing brain architecture and lead to lifelong problems in learning, behavior, and both physical and mental health. Stress in early childhood can be either growth-promoting or seriously damaging
Concept 7: Creating the right conditions for early childhood development is likely to be more effective and less costly than addressing problems at a later age.

Childhood Development: 5 to 7 Years

Years As your child begins school, each day becomes an adventure and a time of discovery. This period of childhood is the time each child begins to learn skills needed to become a self-sufficient person.

How your child eats:

Make your child do some kitchen work. Make sure to carefully supervise activities in the kitchen.

Watch your child when he eats and avoid giving him foods that he might choke on.

How to care for your child's mouth:

Now make your child aware of his responsibility, make him brush his teeth independently.

It is very important that your child see a dentist regularly to ensure the growth of healthy permanent teeth as your child starts loosing baby teeth.

Your child should be seeing a pediatric dentist every 6 months.

How your child uses his hands (your child's fine motor skill development):

Make your child creative by making him learn drawing ( this will enhance his thinking skills)

Make your child learn how to make sentences.

By age 7, your child will be able to tie his shoes.

Your child's gross motor skill development:

Your child will be able to do a series of motions in a row in order to do a complicated motor activity like pumping herself on a swing, skipping, jumping rope, or swimming strokes.

Your child will be able balance on one foot for 10 seconds.

How your child communicates (your child's speech and language development):

Your child will be able to recognize opposites, define objects by their use, and use relatively good sentence structure.

By the time your child turns 7, she will be able to say "v", "j", "sh," "ch", "r", "l", "s", "th" and "str" sounds like in the words "victory", " judge", "shush", "child", "rabbit", "little", "six", "thirteenth", and "street"

Your child understands the rules of conversation and is able to talk and then listen.

Be a good listener yourself and encourage stories.

Make him explore new things daily eg: making him read sign boards while travelling, observing places.

Encourage your child on every small work he/she does.

SaifAli Pervez Kheraj

MUSIC IN EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

Generally, we have learned that children from birth to approximately age six do not express music like adults. Early childhood, a period of rapid change and development, is the most critical period in a child's musical growth and has been identified in the literature as the "music babble" stage (Moog, 1976; Gordon, 1988) or primary music development (Levinowitz and Guilmartin, 1989, 1992, 1996). Even the youngest infant is wired to receive music and discriminate among differences in frequency, melody, and stimuli (Bridger, 1961; Trehum et al, 1990; Standley and Madsen, 1990; Zentner and Kagan, 1996).
The years from birth through age six are critical for learning how to unscramble the aural images of music and to develop mental representations for organizing the music of the culture (Holahan, 1987; Davidson, 1985). This process is similar to that which unfolds for language during the "language babble" stage. The body of knowledge acquired through research thus far supports the notion that, like language development, young children develop musically through a predictable sequence to basic music competence, which includes singing in tune and marching to a beat (Levinowitz and Guilmartin, 1989, 1992, 1996). Consider this analogy; in cable television, visual images are readily available for any channel; however, to see them you need a cable box to unscramble the images. During primary music development, children create a "box" or mental representation to unscramble the aural images of music. This multifaceted, complex mental representation is known is "audiation". Audiation is paramount in importance because it is basic to all types of musical thinking. Without audiation, no musical growth can take place.
Early childhood is also the time when children learn about their world primarily through the magical process of play. The substance of play in very young children is usually comprised of the environmental objects and experiences to which they have been exposed. If the music environment is sufficiently rich, there will be a continuous and ever richer spiral of exposure to new musical elements followed by the child's playful experimentation with these elements.
Edwin Gordon has identified early childhood as the period of developmental music aptitude (1988). During these years, music potential or aptitude, which is based on the complex construct of audiation, is in a state of change. Because of this state of change, the child's musical aptitude is vulnerable to positive or negative influences through both instruction and environment. Without sufficient stimulation and exposure, a child has little with which to experiment and learn through his or her musical play. The most typical negative influence on developmental music aptitude is simply neglect. Hence, the inborn potential for musical growth may actually atrophy.
Just as all children are born with the potential to learn to speak and understand their native language, all children are born with the potential to learn to perform and understand their culture's music. When a child has developed a mental representation of his or her culture's music, the inner reality (audiation) should enable the outer performance to be more accurate. By first grade, many children develop the ability to perform the music of their culture with accuracy. However, many children do not.

Childhood Development: First 6 Weeks

Child development is a process every child goes through. This process involves learning and mastering skills like sitting, walking, talking, skipping, and tying shoes

Children develop skills in five main areas of development:
Cognitive Development
This is the child's ability to learn and solve problems. For example, this includes a two-month-old baby learning to explore the environment with hands or by observation or a five-year-old learning how to do simple math problems, puzzles etc.
Social and Emotional Development
This is the child's ability to interact with others.Examples of this type of development would include: a six-week-old baby smiling, a ten-month-old baby waving bye-bye.
Speech and Language Development
This is the child's ability to both understand the usage of language. For example, this includes a 12-month-old baby saying his first words. Fine Motor Skill Development
This is the child's ability to use small muscles, specifically their hands and fingers, to pick up small objects, hold a spoon, turn pages in a book, or use a crayon to draw, colouring etc First 6
Childhood Development: First 6 Weeks
Newborns experience the world very differently from the way that we experience the world. Newborns are totally dependent on us for their basic needs. In the first six weeks, you and your baby will learn a lot about each other. The give-and-take that occurs between you helps to form the basis of your relationship together this will improve your child to develop relationships with others. Pay close attention to your baby. When your baby sleeps, make sure he is lying on his back unless your doctor tells you otherwise.
What your baby can see:
• At birth, your baby can only see objects that are about 8-12 inches away, like your face when you are holding her. When you are close to your baby, what she sees best is your face.
• Soon, you will notice that your baby follows your movements.
• Your baby may enjoy seeing bright colors or large black and white pictures and toys.
What your baby can hear:
• Your baby has been listening to sounds since he was inside you.
• Look for changes in your baby's body movements or facial expressions when there are new or loud sounds around him. What your baby can feel:
• Your touch is very important to your baby! Babies enjoy gentle massages.
• By holding your baby, you are teaching her that she is loved and safe.
• Your baby feels temperature changes, so be careful to dress her appropriately for the weather.
How your baby eats:
• How much and how often your baby eats will vary.
• Your baby can only tolerate liquids right now, so feed him only breast milk or iron-fortified formula.
How to care for your baby's mouth:
• Your baby's gums need to be cleaned with an infant toothbrush.
How your baby moves
• Your baby is slowly gaining control over his muscles.
• During these six weeks, your baby will need a lot of support to hold his head up.
• Your baby may move his arms and legs to show his interest in the action around him.
• Your baby may have sudden jerking movements, so when you are carrying him, be careful to support him well.
• When awake, give your baby "tummy time"
How your baby communicates (your baby's speech and language development):
• Your baby's cry is her way of communicating her needs.
• Your baby cries to let you know when she is hungry, tired, hot, cold, bored, sick, or wants to be held. Very soon, you will notice that your baby's cry sounds different based on her different needs.
• Your baby may make cooing sounds, particularly when you talk to her.
• When your baby makes eye contact with you, he is communicating his interest!
• Your baby may pull back, or turn away from you to show that he needs a break.

Next post will be of Childhood Development: 1½ to 3 Months