What Does Development Entail?

Young children are always growing and learning. The rates of change might be different but all children are developing and changing every day, it is just a case what stimulates them and how they perceive this stimulus.

As a parent, you know that your lovely little information sponges are going to learn from everything they see and hear but you want to have some more control over what the input is going to be. Fortunately, you do have that kind of influence on your child’s development. Let’s look at some aspects that parents influence when it comes to the development of a child.

Health

“Mens sana in corpore sano” is a Latin phrase that can translated to English as, “A healthy mind in a healthy body”. We are lucky to live in an age that has such incredible and detailed information about food and nutrition as well effects of exercise, sleep and environmental exposure in relation to health.

Parents all over the world can share so much information about what works best to keep children healthy and happy. You can decide what your child’s diet will be and what they should not be eating.

It is easy to neglect exercise because we assume children run around and play a lot but in today’s world, children are more sedentary than ever, especially in large metropolitan cities, where open space is a luxury. Set aside time every day for your child to spend time outside running, playing and developing the coordination, balance and muscle memory that will make them better adults.

The last component of excellent development is sleep. If your child receives the right amount of sleep at the correct time then he/she will develop much healthier habits and much stronger bodies with refreshed minds. Do the best you can to make sure child’s needs are met in these aspects of life and it will go a long way into developing everything else.

Social

Human beings are social creatures and these critical social skills are developed at every stage of development. Taking children outside to play in a public space is an excellent example of giving them a place to develop these skills. Too often, children are protected in their safe home environment and that leaves them anxious to leave and interact with other children and adults in the outside world.

You have to push them out of the nest from time to time and let them learn and fail on their own. Not every moment is positive as your child might encounter all sorts of behaviour outside your immediate supervision but this is necessary for them to understand how people are different from each other. The development of social skills early will help your child express himself/herself much better.

Emotional

There will be happy moments and sad moments and as adults, we are already aware of how to react to many of life’s situations. Children have no such experience and their emotional state is usually more volatile than we think.

It is important give children different modes to express their feelings and emotions. Drawing, painting, playing games or telling stories are outlets for a child’s feelings.

There will be tantrums, jealousy, anger and much more to push and pull your child in different directions but if you are present during these times, you can help them understand why they feel a certain way.

Educational

Finally, what many people assume to be the main driver for a child’s development is education. It is true that education is incredibly important in a young child’s development. Choosing the right place for your child to begin a formal education is a foundational choice you will make.

It is always important to choose educational institutions that have a set of goals in mind and the framework needed to reach these goals. For instance, at Apple Tree, we want to make no compromises to a child’s development and welfare, that’s why we put our meticulously crafted EYFS (Early Years Foundational Stage) curriculum together with a wide variety of experiences on our purpose-built campus.

Do your best to develop your child in every aspect of their lives from an early age and you will see how incredible and rewarding it will be for them when they become adults in the future.