Children's experiences during their early years of life significantly impact how they mature into adults. From being a newborn to becoming a fully functioning adult, children change over the years, quickly moving from reliance to independence.
Your responsibility as a parent is to nurture your child's development from the moment they are born, assisting them in learning the critical life skills associated with each developmental stage. This is a significant part of being a parent that has an impact on a child's development. Finding the right nursery and preschool for your child also plays a huge part in their development and growth and will support you as a parent to nurture and care for your child in the years before they start school.
Defining Child Development
A child's development is a process that begins at birth and continues through adulthood. There are three key stages in a child's development: physical, cognitive, and social. Each stage is characterised by different milestones, which are specific behaviours or abilities that indicate that a child is developing as they should.
It is important to note that each stage of development builds on the foundation laid down in previous stages. For example, social skills cannot be developed without first mastering communication skills; similarly, cognitive abilities such as memory and attention are necessary for learning new information. Development is thus often described as being cumulative; each milestone represents an important step forward in a child's overall growth and mastery of new skills.
Always remember that every child is unique and each will develop at different times in their lives, however, a good nursery and preschool will ensure that each child is where they need to be at a specific time in their life and will help to nurture and develop skills throughout their time with them or if they feel they need more support in an area.
The Characteristics of Child Development Stages
Communication & Language
Communication and language is one of the key stages in a child's development. How a child plays and interacts with other children, people and places is referred to as social development. From the moment they are born, babies require social interaction to enhance them and teach them to respond. Babies communicate with sounds until they learn to speak and fully comprehend what is being said to them. This type of social growth is closely linked to intellectual development.
Communication and Sound
This is when children learn to understand and use language. They learn how to communicate their needs, and how to understand what others are saying. This is a crucial stage in a child's development, as it lays the foundation for all future social interactions.
Children start to develop communication skills from birth. From an early age, they begin to make sounds and gestures that communicate their needs. As they grow older, they begin to understand more and more of the words that are spoken to them. By the time they reach kindergarten age, most children can hold simple conversations with adults.
Language development plays an important role in cognitive development. Language allows children to organise their thoughts and express them clearly. It also helps them to remember information better. By developing strong language skills, children set themselves up for success in both school, and life.
Personal, Social & Emotional Development
One of the key stages in a child's development is personal, social, and emotional development. This is when children learn to understand and express their emotions. They learn how to interact with others, and how to form relationships. This is a crucial stage in a child's development, as it lays the foundation for future social interactions in life, school and work.
Children start to develop social skills from an early age. From birth, they begin to engage in simple back-and-forth interactions with adults. As they grow older, they learn how to take turns, share toys, and play games with other children. By the time they reach nursery and preschool age, most children can follow basic rules and cooperate with others.
Emotional development plays an important role in cognitive development. by learning how to understand and regulate their emotions, children are better able to focus on tasks and retain information. By developing strong emotional skills, children set themselves up for success in school, work and life.
Physical Development
Physical development is another key stage in a child's development. This is when children learn to control their bodies and develop their gross and fine motor skills. They learn how to move around, how to use their hands and fingers, and how to coordinate their movements. This is a crucial stage in a child's development, as it lays the foundation for all future physical activity.
Children start to develop physical skills from an early age. From birth, they begin to engage in simple reflexive movements. As they grow older, they learn how to control their bodies and coordinate their movements. By the time they reach nursery school age, most children can walk, run, jump, and throw with some degree of accuracy.
Physical development plays an important role in cognitive development. by developing strong gross and fine motor skills, children are better able to focus on tasks and retain information. By developing strong physical skills, children set themselves up for success in school and in life.
Why Early Child Development Is Critical
The years 0 to 5 are particularly sensitive, according to Shonkoff et al. (2008), because this is when the brain is much more easily influenced by both positive and negative life experiences.
During the early stages of a child's life, the brain is extremely quickly developing in all areas, and a child's experiences impact how the brain develops.
Healthy brain development is why encouraging positive and uplifting life experiences are critical. Allowing a child to learn that things don’t always work is also critical in how they react to situations throughout their lives.
Read our ‘Teaching Your Toddler Positive Mental Health Practices’ Article here.
About The Flowers Day Nursery & Pre-School
We are located just outside Swansea City Centre, we have our own parking facilities, ensuring you are both safe and it is easy when dropping off or picking up your children.
The Flowers can accommodate your needs with flexible full-day or half-day sessions. Babies can start with us from the age of 3 months up until preschool age and then up to 8 in our before, after and school holiday clubs where we drop off and collect from the schools in the local area.
With a wealth of experience in childcare, our caring and professional team have been serving Swansea since 2004. We require all of our carers to have a minimum of Level 3 Childcare certification as well as Food Hygiene, Child Protection, and First Aid certifications.
With us, your child will feel safe and happy in a caring home-from-home environment that supports their emotional, physical, cognitive, and social development.
Unless it is a bank holiday, we are open Monday through Friday from 7.30 to 18.30. Often, we can accommodate additional childcare sessions due to work commitments and sudden changes in plans.
Childcare Vouchers are accepted and we support local government funding schemes that contribute to your childcare costs.
If you are looking for a Nursery or Preschool place for your child, contact us today at 01792 46 44 45 and one of our team will be happy to answer any questions you may have and arrange for you to come and visit us.