1 Children’s Well-being and Early Childhood Education
1 Children’s Well-being and Early Childhood Education
Learning Objectives
At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
- Explain why health and well-being in early childhood is so important.
- Describe qualities and benefits of high-quality early care and education programs.
- Outline what the book will be addressing in regards to safety, health, and nutrition.
- Discuss what licensing is and its role in keeping children safe and healthy.
- Compare and contrast Rule 2 (family child care) and Rule 3 (child care centers) licensing requirements.
Introduction
Evidence shows that experiences in childhood are extremely important for a child’s healthy development and lifelong learning. How a child develops during this time affects future cognitive, social, emotional, language, and physical development, which in turn influences school readiness and later success in life. Research on a number of adult health and medical conditions points to pre-disease pathways that have their beginnings in early and middle childhood.[1]
During early childhood, the human brain grows to 90 percent of its adult size by age 3. Early childhood represents the period when young children reach developmental milestones that include:
- Emotional regulation and attachment
- Language development
- Cognitive development
- Physical development (motor skills)
All of these milestones can be significantly delayed when young children experience inadequate caregiving, environmental stressors, and other negative risk factors. These stressors and factors can affect the brain and may seriously compromise a child’s physical, social-emotional, and cognitive growth and development.
More than any other developmental periods, childhood sets the stage for:
- School success
- Health literacy
- Self-discipline
- The ability to make good decisions about risky situations
- Eating habits
- Conflict negotiation and healthy relationships with family and friends.[2]
Understanding Childhood Health Concerns[3]
Although young children are typically healthy, it is during this time that they are at risk for conditions such as:
- Developmental and behavioural disorders
- Child maltreatment
- Asthma and other chronic conditions
- Obesity
- Dental caries (cavities)
- Unintentional injuries.
While typically nonfatal, these conditions affect children, their education, their relationships with others, and the health and well-being of the adolescents and adults they will become.[4]
Emerging Issues in Childhood Health
The keys to understanding childhood health are recognizing the important roles these periods play in adult health and well-being and focusing on conditions and illnesses that can seriously limit children’s abilities to learn, grow, play, and become healthy adults.
Prevention efforts in early and middle childhood can have lasting benefits. Emerging issues in early and middle childhood include implementing and evaluating multidisciplinary public health interventions that address social determinants of