“Thrive by Five”: Why the early years are so important

You might have heard the saying that all children should “thrive by five”. This is because the basic foundation for success in school (and life!) is established in the early years.

Brain science has shown us that the early years establish the trajectory for a lifetime. Strong brain architecture built in early childhood enables a healthy fulfilled life. In other words, investing in children from the time they are infants until they are school age pays dividends for the rest of their lives.

If children experience positive relationship-building interactions with caring adults at home and in childcare settings, they will thrive. Find out more about what you can do to support your child’s development right from birth with this series of articles by Dawne Clark:

Building your child’s brain is like building a house
The proper development of your child’s brain is critically important. It’s a complex process that requires cognitive, emotional, physical, and social constructs, and each requires the other three for the entire brain to work harmoniously.

Building your child’s brain through physical literacy
Physically literate kids experience better overall well-being. This article explains further the importance of developing physical literacy to overall brain development.

Active play experiences help young children develop physical literacy
The best way to help young children develop physical literacy is through play. This article explains exactly why play is such an excellent way to learn how to move.

Why relationships are so important when building a child’s brain
Learn about “serve and return” and how this relationship-building technique helps babies’ brains develop. This article also helps parents consider programs for their children and the importance of the people delivering the programming.

How to support the ‘air traffic control system’ of your child’s brain
The connection between physical literacy and executive function. It includes information connecting the dots between the components of physical literacy, how parents can help children develop and how it develops executive function.

For more, this recent article by Dawne Clark addresses how developing executive function is key to success in school.

Let’s all work together to raise awareness of helping kids “thrive by five”. Please share this article with all the new parents, parents to be, and childcare centres in your network.

Source: https://activeforlife.com/thrive-by-five-why-the-early-years-are-so-important/