Programs in ECD create an environment in which protection and support for the issues of children’s health, nutrition, psycho-social and cognitive development are given the attention they deserve. ECD programs are child-friendly, family-focused, and community-based, which means that they strengthen ongoing social service programs and improve the physical and mental capacity of the community’s children. Furthermore development in children can be impaired if they face various stressors during these years that can impair healthy development. Early childhood interventions aim to reduce these stressors and their negative impact on children. However ECD programs can be costly for implementation however compared to their benefits and monetary returns over time they benefit the individual and community tremendously. Interventions with better-trained caregivers and smaller child-to-staff ratios appear to offer more favorable results.
Improved nutrition and health
The importance ECD programs lay on the psychosocial aspect ensures that children receive improved health care and nutrition. Programs can also monitor growth and provide food supplements and micronutrients and can help with existing public health efforts such as mass immunizations. ECD programs also specifically aim at changing parent behavior by educating parents about the health and nutrition needs of their children.
Improved cognitive health and school achievement
Better health care and nutrition also result in considerable cognitive development in children. Various longitudinal studies, one of them being the “Early Childhood Nutrition and Academic Achievement: A Longitudinal Analysis (Philippines)”, have shown how better nourished children perform significantly better in school.
Higher school enrolment and graduation rates
Children who are part of ECD programs show significantly higher enrolment rates than non-participants. With the welcoming and child-centered environment of ECD classrooms students are finding it less burdensome and more enjoyable to attend school on a regular basis. Also children are more likely to successfully complete there education and graduate out of school with lower chances of dropping out. According to local studies dropout rates have fallen among children who are part of ECD schools because these schools are enjoyably welcoming and encourage children to have a good time while learning new things. The teachers in these indicatives play a vital role in keeping these children satisfied and happy at school by creating a comfortable environment.
Less repetition
Various global longitudinal studies have shown that children who participated in an early childhood program repeated fewer grades and made better progress through school than did non-participants in similar circumstances.
Help for the disadvantages and reduce social inequality
There is mounting evidence that interventions in early childhood particularly benefit the poor and disadvantaged; as was the case in India's Haryana project, where dropout rates did not change significantly for children from the higher caste but fell a dramatic 46% for the lower caste and an astonishing 80% for the middle caste (Chaturvedi et al 1987).
Another study conducted in Jamaica gives unequivocal proof that nutritional supplementation for undernourished children - who are most likely to come from disadvantaged families - improves mental development (Grantham-McGregor et al 1991).
Furthermore programs in India and Guatemala resulted in a significant decline in the enrolment age for another traditionally disadvantaged group - girls (Myers 1995).
Lower rates of depression
Children who attend ECD programs have recorded much lower rates of depression, high self esteem and confidence. These factors help them in every stage of their lives where they are able to successfully interact with people and create stable relationships.
Lower rates of crime and delinquency
Children who have been enrolled in ECD programs also record lower chances of committing crime and prove top be more stable individuals.
Improves knowledge and awareness in parents and caregivers
General knowledge about health, hygiene, and nutrition, as well as their own, can be exponentially improved with an appropriate ECD program. This will lead to improvement in attitudes and practices towards health and medical practices. Also relationships between parents and children, husbands and wives, their peers, and even between other children improve as a result of ECD education. This leads to a greater amount of self-esteem in adults who participate in ECD programs and may also improve job prospects in ECD related fields and programs.
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