Education gives children the skills they need to thrive and prepares them for the future. It builds a strong foundation for cognitive development, nurtures personal growth, and promotes empathy.
Kids learn how to adapt to new routines at school, and they develop the ability to handle stress, such as studying for a test.
Socialization
Socialization affects many different areas of a child’s development. For instance, infants who are socialized with their peers are more likely to reach important cognitive milestones like crawling and babbling, while toddlers who are socialized will develop better motor skills, especially when they’re encouraged to play in groups with other children.
In addition, studies show that parents’ discussion of emotions with their toddlers is associated with early-emerging prosocial behavior. In particular, parent-child discourse on the nature and causes of others’ emotions promotes empathic concern.
A lack of socialization will inhibit a child’s ability to learn and understand cultural norms, for example, gender-specific behaviors. Feral children, or children who were deprived of all human contact from an early age, are often unable to grasp gender norms and may exhibit male stereotyped behaviors as adults.
Emotional Development
A child’s emotional development is a vital part of their education. It enables them to identify and express emotions in healthy ways, empathise with others, and take responsibility for their actions. It also allows them to develop close, satisfying relationships with other children and adults.
During middle and late childhood, children start to understand that the same situation can cause them to experience mixed emotions. For example, a goodbye party for a sibling going off to college might be both happy and sad.
Social and emotional competence relates directly to academic achievement. Children who have well-developed social and emotional skills can manage their stress, display resilience in the face of challenge, and make responsible decisions about their schoolwork. They have the ability to engage in positive relationships with their teachers and peers, which helps them feel a sense of belonging and support.
Physical Development
Physical development is tied to other developmental areas, such as cognitive and social. For example, when an infant crawls or walks (gross motor skills), he or she gains the ability to explore their physical environment, which affects cognitive development.
Fine motor development is also important, allowing children to use their hands for activities such as threading beads, drawing and painting, mark-making, and building with Lego or small blocks. Children with impaired fine motor skills may need adaptive writing utensils.
Research shows that healthy levels of physical activity promote growth and help build self-confidence, while also boosting cognition and lowering the risk for psychosocial problems. However, insufficient levels of activity contribute to sedentary lifestyles, which carries the risk for obesity and other chronic diseases.
Language & Literacy
Literacy is a complex process that includes both verbal and written communication. It is an essential part of cognitive development and has profound ramifications for children’s scholastic achievement.
Educators can support children’s literacy journey by ensuring their language skills are strong and healthy. Reading aloud, engaging children in conversations, and encouraging creative expression are great ways to promote language development and nurture the symbiotic relationship between literacy and language.
Research shows that it is best to support literacy development by starting in the children’s home language, or ‘first language’ (ELF). It is important not to push children to read and write too soon, as this can have a negative impact on their literacy journey1. Early language and literacy learning is key for a child’s future success!
Thinking Skills
Children’s thinking skills are impacted by the social contexts in which they learn. When they encounter information, they must evaluate it to determine if it is credible or not. This process requires them to consider the source, motives and biases of the information they are evaluating.
They also must be taught how to use logic and reasoning skills to understand what they read or hear, so they can assess the validity of arguments presented by others. When teaching children these skills, it’s important to encourage their natural curiosity and nurture their creativity to allow them to think outside the box.
Thinking is not a natural function like walking or talking, it is a skill that must be learned and nurtured through interaction with adults who take them seriously, engage them in meaningful conversations and inspire their imaginations.