Early childhood is a vulnerable and critical period for growth and development. Research has shown that the way adults provide for and treat young children determines their physical, spiritual and emotional development.
By developing young children, we can turn them into creative and productive members of society. But if we get it wrong we end up with a cycle in which poor early development leads to poor learning skills, poor school performance, poor skills development and low productivity. Not all disadvantaged people end up in such a cycle, but inadequate early development stacks the odds against success. Children who perform poorly at school often become a drain on society in adulthood, inflicting on it the costs of low productivity, unrealised potential, crime and violence.
The 2000 Nobel prize winner for economic sciences, James J Heckman, in an article in 2006 on the Economics of Childhood: When to invest, calculated that for every R1 spent on early development society saves R7 in social and economic costs. We need to create a world where children:
Do not experience violence and abuse;
Receive enough of the right kind of food;
Have parents and caregivers who are not always stressed, depressed and distracted;
Have mothers who take care of themselves during pregnancy and register their newborn children;
Are part of a dependable family structure;
Are listened to by adults who take them seriously;
Get enough play and the right kind of stimulation;
Have a safe and hygienic environment, shelter, clean water, proper sanitation and healthcare;
Learn what they need to be prepared for school; and
Are loved and cared for.
Primary school or grade R teachers cannot be responsible for all these factors but they can play a major role in getting parents and others to understand the part they play in children’s lives. This argument has been developed by the partners in the early childhood development learning community who look for ways to influence attitudes towards young children.
They hope to clarify information about young children and develop a commitment in all people to meet the needs and rights of the country’s youngest citizens.
Derek Pienaar is director of the Institute for Partnerships between Education and Business (Ipeb)