Early childhood is defined as the period between the ages of conception to age eight. This is a very crucial time as far as the development of a child is concerned. Early Childhood Development, or ECD, encompasses the essential support and nurturing a child needs to thrive during the early years of a child. Also included is the support of the family and the community which is needed to promote the healthy development of the child. The child, during this time, should be provided with opportunities for exploration, play and active learning.

ECD offers an integrated approach, as it includes health, nutrition and intellectual stimulation. What needs to be noted here is that this multi-faceted approach towards the development of children does not pertain only to children, but also to mothers and other caregivers, family members, community members, teachers and healthcare providers. It is obvious that ECD benefits more than just children; adults, communities, and the entire society in general can feel the positive impact of ECD programs.

Children
Improved health due to increased chances of survival and reduced morbidity benefit children directly. ECD programs work to help improve the children’s nutrition, their hygiene, and even their overall physical development. These programs also help improve not only the children’s ability to think and reason, but also their relationships with others, their self-image and sense of security and their language and communication skills.

Adults
Adults experience an enhancement in their general knowledge about not only their children’s health, nutrition and hygiene, but also their own. They will also find an improvement in their attitudes and practices towards health and hygiene, preventative medical practices, nutrition and diet. Moreover, their relationship with their children, their spouses and their peers will improve as a result of participating in ECD programs.

As a result of such an all-embracing approach that ECD adopts, 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 their due attention. ECD programs are child-friendly, family-focused, and community-based, which implies that they consequently strengthen ongoing social service programs and improve the physical and mental capacity of the community’s children.

Communities
Communities can benefit in terms of an improved physical environment as a result of improved sanitation, creation of new spaces for play, and involving new, multi-purpose facilities for children to spend time in.

Increased social participation and improved solidarity of the community are also direct benefits to the community. Women’s participation in community activities also increases. Furthermore, institutions within a community practicing ECD will be more efficient, more attentive to health, and will experience reduced repetition and drop out rate in schools. Organizations will become more effective and teaching and learning methods will be impacted positively.

Society
ECD results in a healthier population, which in turn is more productive. Reduced number of days lost to sickness, a more literate, educated population, greater social participation, an improved labor force and finally reduced social inequalities all result in a better and a more efficient society.

Even though there are a number of challenges that we face as far as investment in ECD is concerned, and there will always be something more immediate, there will never be anything more important than to convince society that the well-being of people, starting with the youngest of them all, is a central concern for the government and civil society. Rights, education, peace, social infrastructure and wise governance of nations all rest on the foundation of the youngest human beings, who will need to achieve their full positive human potential if a world fit for children (and adults) is to be achieved.