Early childhood is the critical period of neurological development . All children come to us with lively minds . Children come to our early childhood programs with different amounts of exposure to books, stories, being read to, holding and using pencils, having their questions answered, encouragement to read signs, and other kinds of experiences that help them adapt and adjust to school and the academic exercises so typical of the classroom. Young children compelled by circumstances to cope with the risks and vagaries of the streets or neighborhood often develop powerful intellectual capacities to predict, hypothesize, and analyze the contingencies they face. This research then reminds us to resist the temptation to hold low expectations for children who have not been exposed to early literacy and other school-related skills and knowledge.
Early childhood is the critical period in social development .
In this aspect of development, the critical period of the first six years is not due to any limitations of the brain and its development. Rather, it is because of what is known as the recursive cycle, namely, that whatever pattern of social behavior a child has, the chances are that others will react to the child so that the pattern will be strengthened. We now know a lot about how to help young children caught in a negative cycle. Taken together, these recent findings from research present a challenge to us all to make sure that our daily encounters with the very young set them on their way to fulfilling tomorrows. To be intelligent.