ECE or Early Child Education is considered to be a crucial period in child development. Although not mandatory by the Unites States Department of Education, the early childhood education is a fundamental stage in the learning.

The National Association for Early Childhood Education for Young Children (NAEYC) defines early childhood as occurring before the age of 8. It is during this period that a child experiences the fastest stage of growth and development, be it mental or physical. Their brains develop faster than at any time in their lives, so these years are crucial. In these years, they have established the foundations of social skills, self-esteem, worldview and moral vision, as well as the development of cognitive abilities; on all these important foundations, encouraging early childhood education that promotes healthy development and nurturing, trends show that parents I have come to realize this more and more. In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in the past 30 years, enrollment in pre-school education has increased from 96,000 to more than 1 million.

It’s a common misperception that early childhood education is only about learning basic skills. “It’s so much more than that, Says Dr. Jessica Alvarado, academic program director for the BA in Early Childhood Development at National University. Dr. Alvarado further explains it as: “It’s a time when children learn critical social and emotional skills and a partnership is formed between the child, their parents and the teacher. When this is done successfully, it lays the groundwork for it to continue throughout the child’s education.”

Here is what UNESCO has to say about it:

“Early childhood care and education (ECCE) is more than preparation for primary school. It aims at the holistic development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs in order to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing. ECCE has the possibility to nurture caring, capable and responsible future citizens.”

Simply put, early childhood education (ECE) helps children gain the necessary academic, emotional, and social skills to prosper in school and beyond.

Benefits of Early Childhood Education

Socialization:

Interacting with people outside of the children’s family in a safe environment is an important part of the personality development of the child. As parents, we intuitively understand that it is important to introduce our children to other children and support them in transitioning to their own friendship group. We do our best because it can help children overcome shyness and gain confidence. If we leave this for too long, we will actually hinder their social development.

Sharing & Cooperation:

Under the guidance of professionals who care about the best interests of children, learn to share, cooperate, take turns and persist in a safe learning environment. This is especially important for the first child who may not be used to sharing with children. Family. -Although this may be a difficult lesson, it must be learned as early as possible.

Brain Development:

Between birth and the fifth birthday, a child’s brain develops more than at any other stage of their life. A brain completes 90% of its growth before the kid enters kindergarten. It’s imperative to take full advantage of this period to ensure educational success in the future.

The study “The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3” showed that children (under 3) from wealthy families knew 30 million more words than kids from poorer families. The reason is simple. The size of a child’s vocabulary depends on how many words adults use when speaking to them.

Without ECE, kids simply don’t have as many to build their brain’s capacity to its fullest.

Enhancing and improving attention spans

The average attention spans in young children is 2 to 3 minutes per year of their age. Their urge to learn and explore new things often renders them unable to focus for long period of time. Early childhood education programs are designed to improve their concentration times without having to compromise on their ability to explore and learn new concepts. Resultantly, by the time children go to kindergarten, they know how to listen, participate in group tasks, follow directions, and concentrate on individual projects.

According to StartSchoolNow.org, an organization focused at how school systems work and explore paths to help educate our society better, from primary school through adult education. Every experience and new word a child encounters in their young age works to shape them into the adults they will become. Studies have revealed the importance of early childhood education, and it is up to parents to ensure that their children start off early, and get the best quality education.