A STUDY ON CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY STAGE

Early Childhood Development refers to the physical, cognitive, linguistic, and socio-emotional development of a child from the prenatal stage up to age eight. This development happens in a variety of settings (homes, schools, health facilities, community-based centers); and involves a wide range of activities from child care to nutrition to parent education. Providers of services can include public, private, and non-governmental agencies. Early Childhood Development encompasses a number of distinct sub-stages, each of which presents particular needs Pregnancy and pre-natal: prenatal care, attended births, registration, postnatal care 0 to 3 parent education, early stimulation and nutrition interventions, home-based care, crèches 3 to 6 parent education, preschool 6 to 8 transition to formal education, improved early primary school From a development point of view, children who come from the most vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds need good-quality services and care the most, including children with special needs for early childhood development.To ensure a nation's children develop well, adequate investment in early childhood development is essential. However, a study by the Child and Family Policy Center (CFPC) shows that although brain growth and general child development is most important during the initial stages of life up to three to five years of age, the amount of public spending for that period in 12 states of the United States was vastly inferior to investment in later years.35 These results mirror those in many other nations where far greater emphasis is placed on investing in formal education from ages five or six forward. It is instructive to compare national investments in children from zero to five years with fundingfor children from six to 14 or up to 18 years. Note; [Different programs classify the early childhood period according to their own context. Therefore, it is recommended that users of this guide refer to their own early childhood development national policy guidelines when planning and implementing early childhood programs.]