How important are my child's early years to his or her long term development?

Recent developments in research into childhood learning and development have shown that a large portion of the learning that children do happens during the first six years of their lives. It’s therefore incredibly important that parents and care givers pay proper attention to their development during this time.

During these years, children are more motivated to learn, and if they receive the support and help they need to do that, it sets them up for a lifetime of learning.
When children are cared for by people who understand this, and who are engaged in helping them to learn, they will almost always grow up with a love of learning.

Some of the things your child is learning during these formative years include:
How their bodies work, and how to use them.
How to engage others, and how respect works.
Conflict resolution skills, and how to relate to peers and adults.
Communication skills, and how to solve problems using creative thinking.
The differences, and similarities, between themselves and others.
Confidence, self knowledge, and their sense of identity.
Socially acceptable behaviour.
Self care

Your child begins to learn about all of these things, and more, from birth, and there are several ways you can help your child to learn them.