Children learn best when they are emotionally safe and well supported in learning. Negative stress, such as from poverty and food insecurity, produces toxic effects that affect the brain’s capacity to learn.
Shower your child with praise and reassurance. Praise lubricates the process of learning, just as oil keeps a car running smoothly.
Social development
Developing social skills is an essential part of children’s education. Children’s ability to build positive relationships with others helps them develop self-esteem and a sense of well being. It also allows them to learn about and express emotions and improve their ability to problem solve. Parents and teachers can encourage social development in children by fostering expressive emotions, teaching perspective taking and active listening.
Early learning programs that focus on social and emotional development help children adjust to school environments, develop friendships with peers and learn how to work with others. They use activities such as play dates, art and music to foster creativity, imagination and language skills. They also provide opportunities for conflict resolution and teamwork through group games and projects. In addition, these programs support the educational needs of girls and girls from vulnerable communities, whose right to education can prevent teen pregnancies and early marriages, promote family stability and contribute to economic growth, creating more opportunities for all.
Emotional development
Understanding and managing emotions is an essential part of children’s development. It enables them to learn, make friends and become independent. Without strong emotional guidance, children can struggle academically and socially. Those who don’t receive proper emotional support are at greater risk of mental health problems and addictions.
Young children start learning about different emotions in their early childhood. They also develop close relationships with caregivers and start expressing their emotions. During this time, they may experience emotions such as anxiety, fear or anger.
Between the ages of two and five, children’s emotional self-regulation improves, and they are able to communicate their feelings more effectively. They can also recognize the feelings of others and empathise with them. In addition, they begin to understand the importance of rules and responsibilities.
Language development
Language development is a key part of children’s education. It enables them to express their ideas and emotions, understand the world around them and learn new things. In addition, it helps them develop social skills and prepare for reading. It also forms the foundations for all other areas of learning.
Children who hear more words and speech in their early years have a larger vocabulary than children who don’t. This is particularly important for disadvantaged children, who often hear far fewer words in their homes than other children.
Supporting language development includes a range of strategies including scaffolding, narrative talk and using sign languages to support communication. It also includes teaching children the sounds and patterns of words, giving them opportunities to explore new words through hands-on experiences, songs, rhymes and non-fiction texts. In addition, encouraging them to use parallel talk and self-talk can help expand their vocabularies. It also includes helping them learn grammar by explaining the rules for word formation, such as adding ‘es’ to make words plural and ‘er’ to form adjectives.
Cooperation
Cooperation is a key developmental skill that can be encouraged at a very early age. It helps children get along better at home, at school, and with their peers. Parents can teach cooperation by modeling it at home and with friends, by setting clear expectations for their kids, and by using activities that promote teamwork.
UNESCO works with countries on a range of education-related issues, including child development, teacher training, learning in emergencies and child rights. The organisation’s work encompasses a wide variety of partnerships with government, private sector and civil society.
Collaborative play helps children learn cooperation skills, such as sharing and taking turns. It also supports their creativity and imagination, and it can help them explore new cultures and languages. It also teaches them how to solve problems together and boosts their self-esteem, encouraging positive social interactions. These benefits are especially important for children living in areas affected by conflict, natural disaster and displacement.