Every parent desire for their child to be happy, healthy, and successful. Learning about the building blocks of development shows them the way.

The Building Blocks of Development

So, what are the building blocks of development parents can help create for their child?

• Self-Awareness:

Understanding their own emotions and feelings. This includes identifying emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, and fear. It also involves recognizing how their body feels when they experience these emotions (e.g., a racing heart when they’re scared). Children can learn to label their emotions and talk about them with others as they grow.

• Connecting with Others:

Building relationships and understanding how others feel. This starts with forming a secure attachment with parents or caregivers. It also involves learning to interact with others in positive ways, take turns, share, and show empathy. Children who connect with others are likelier to feel good about themselves and develop strong social skills.

• Problem-Solving:

Learning how to think through challenges. This starts with simple tasks, like figuring out how to get a toy out of reach. As children grow, they can learn to break down bigger problems into smaller steps, think creatively, and try different solutions.

• Making Good Choices:

Developing a sense of what’s right and wrong. This involves understanding rules and expectations. It’s about learning to consider the consequences of their actions and making choices that are based on values like fairness and kindness.

Imagine

Picture a fish swimming in water. We see the fish, but the water it depends on is invisible to us. Humans are like fish, but we’re surrounded by air instead of water. We breathe it in, use the oxygen, and breathe out what we don’t need. We swim in a sea of unseen ingredients that keep us alive.

Everything that lives needs energy. That’s true for us and for the tiniest plant. Energy is about using ingredients from our environment and turning them into the power we need to survive and grow. Even a baby needs energy before learning to roll over or smile! And the most important source of energy on Earth? Our sun! Without the sun, our planet would be too cold to live in.

Babies and Their Bowl of Energy

Well, considering that all living things require energy to survive raises the question of how babies obtain their energy. When babies are born, they have a special kind of energy inside them, like a bowl. This bowl may not appear to be real, but it possesses the potential to empower individuals to grow and achieve incredible feats. The energy is initially quite wild and untamed, resembling a playful puppy bouncing around energetically!

Parents and caregivers are crucial in nurturing and guiding this energy, much like gardeners tend to their plants. When we take good care of ourselves, it helps to channel that energy towards the foundations of healthy development. When a baby is born, their brain is still developing and growing. It’s a combination of their energy and the experiences they have that help build a strong foundation for their brain. When children are neglected or exposed to unhealthy environments, it can harm their healthy development and cause issues later on.

Directing the Flow

In the beginning, a baby’s energy is focused on basics: eating, sleeping, and being loved. They need attention and interaction. They need to feel safe. It’s all about the NOW for them, because they haven’t yet developed the ability to wait or really understand that other people exist! There’s just ME at first.

As babies grow, with the right support, their energy blossoms. It becomes the power to think, understand the world around them, and develop a sense of right and wrong. If there’s a disruption – something scary or hurtful happens – the flow of this energy can become stuck or misdirected.

Think of it like a river. Healthy energy flows smoothly toward positive development. But throwing big rocks in a river (like trauma or neglect) gets all choppy and blocked.

The Takeaway

• Parents are a child’s first and most influential teachers. Understanding the building blocks of early childhood development isn’t about turning parenthood into a science project – it’s about giving your child the best chance to thrive.

• Think of those building blocks of development as the foundation of a house. If they are strong and well-laid, everything you build on top will be secure and sturdy. A shaky foundation leads to problems later on.

• Knowing about these building blocks of development provides parents with a roadmap. You can better understand why your child acts the way they do, what their needs are at different stages, and how you can offer the right support for healthy emotional, intellectual, and social growth.

• It’s also about preventing problems. Understanding healthy development helps you spot potential delays or red flags early on. This means getting help sooner, which can make a huge difference in a child’s long-term well-being.

• Empowered parents make informed choices about everything from play activities to discipline techniques. It’s the knowledge that helps you build a positive, enriching environment for your child, making plans for their success and happiness for all time.

Remember, you are not alone in this journey. There are many resources to help you better understand your child’s development. Check with your pediatrician, online parent resources, or even books like “Birth to Five” by Dr. Neil Fried to learn more about the building blocks of development.