Why are the early years so important in child development?

child development

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Accompany your child's development

Childhood is a phase full of discoveries and learning moments in which every child grows and learns at their own pace. Find out how playful activities, creative learning processes and emotional attention promote your child's abilities. The following suggestions will help you to understand how crucial the first few years of a child's development are. The active support of parents plays a central role here in order to provide your child with the best possible support on their individual development path.

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The significance of the early years

Children go through crucial developmental phases in their early years that influence their future abilities. Their experiences impact, among other things, the development of important brain connections that are essential for language, motor skills, and social understanding. Through everyday activities such as playing, exploring, and communicating, they acquire significant competencies.

How activities promote development

Children go through a natural learning and development process during their childhood. Especially in the first years of life, the child's brain is very adaptable. What children experience and learn during this time influences the networking of their brain. These brain connections are crucial for their holistic development. Over time, they acquire knowledge and skills that are essential in everyday life and later at school. These include language skills, motor and cognitive skills, social skills, emotional understanding, basic math skills and personal preferences. When children try to catch a ball or stand on one leg, they improve their motor skills and body control. Telling stories expands their vocabulary and language skills. Sorting toy cars by size promotes their understanding of proportions. Shaping figures out of play dough improves their fine motor skills. A child who plays simple melodies on a music instrument develops their musical ear and sense of rhythm as well as concentration and patience. Making music also strengthens a child's self-confidence as they recognize their own progress. By encouraging your child to explore and play, you create the best foundation for healthy and holistic development.

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Learning from your own experiences

Children's development spans many years and touches on various key areas that together form the basis for holistic personal development. Each child is unique and goes through their own developmental journey, experiencing their own progress. Engaging with their surroundings, expanding their vocabulary and understanding of small quantities are just some of the steps on this journey.

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Key areas of child development

Children's developmental processes include key areas such as motor skills, which are essential for body movement and cognitive skills, which support the absorption and processing of information and sensory impressions. These processes require sufficient time and contribute significantly to the development of children's personalities, especially when they are combined with moments of joy and attentive care. Care, manifested as loving attention and support, accompanies these developmental processes and positively impacts the child's emotional well-being and holistic development. Equally important are emotional development, which helps children to understand and express feelings, and social skills, which promote coexistence and communication with others. These key areas are closely interlinked and together contribute to a holistic development that each child experiences individually. You will find a wide range of suggestions in the support activities, for example to improve your child's gross motor skills, expand precursor math skills, support the handling of emotions or promote independence and concentration.

Gross motor skills

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Emotions

Early mathematical skills

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Quote from Konfusius: »I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.«

Children are attentive observers

Parents play a key role in their children's development by being role models and creating an environment of love and support. By modeling positive behaviors and values such as honesty, empathy and gratitude, they significantly influence how children deal with challenges and other people. Resolving conflicts calmly and spending time together as a family teaches children important social and emotional skills.

Son, grandson, and grandfather outdoors.

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Parents as role models

Children are attentive observers and learn by imitating role models. When parents model positive behavior, children tend to adopt this behavior on their own. Parents have the most significant influence on the development of values and skills such as self-confidence, courage, compassion, empathy, love, curiosity, honesty, helpfulness, and critical thinking. By demonstrating compassion and empathy towards others, adults convey to their children the importance of being considerate of other people's feelings. Setting an example of honesty and helpfulness in relationships with others is also a valuable moral value that children learn from their parents. Children learn to show gratitude through simple words of thanks by following the example of adults. Gratitude is the ability to recognize the good things in life and appreciate the efforts and kindnesses of others, which in turn improves interpersonal relationships. Fostering family bonds also plays a crucial role in instilling family values and developing a child's personality. An environment of unconditional warmth, interest, and kindness supports the best possible development of children and forms the basis for a trusting relationship.

Children are good observers

Children learn mainly through observation and often adopt the behavior of adults. It is therefore essential that adults are aware of their own actions and reactions to different situations. Children quickly feel insecure when adults expect behavior from them that they themselves do not exemplify. By putting their cell phones away during mealtimes, parents show their children the importance of spending time together. This encourages family cohesion and conversations with each other. For example, if there is tension between the adults at home, children may show defiant reactions. Children sense that something is wrong, even if adults think they are not being watched. When parents approach conflicts calmly by discussing and seeking solutions, they teach their children that differences of opinion can be resolved peacefully. This encourages children's ability to resolve conflicts and develop empathy. How children develop and what they learn depends to a large extent on what happens around them every day. They take their parents' behavior as an example and how they deal with stress, disappointments, arguments or the joy of happy moments. Parents promote their children's emotional and social skills when they consciously take time to play together or listen attentively when children describe their day. These moments of full attention support self-confidence and are fundamental to children's development by having a positive impact on their well-being.

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Childhood passes quickly. Use every day as a valuable opportunity to accompany your child on the path of development.

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Structure in daily life provides security

A structured daily routine and a relaxed start to the day promote the development of children. Starting the day with enough time and love avoids stress and conveys to children a sense of security and support. The following suggestions will help you consider the needs of your child and create a relaxed start to the day.

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Regular daily routine

A regular daily routine gives children a reliable structure to their day and helps them overcome reluctance and stick to routines such as getting up, getting dressed, and brushing their teeth. Regular meals together are also important because they structure the day and help children develop a healthy relationship with food. Eating dinner with the whole family gives children the opportunity to talk about their day and receive their parents' full attention. This attention is particularly important because it makes children feel loved and valued. Regular communication with parents not only promotes language development but also builds trust and strengthens the bond between parents and children. Additionally, parental attention helps children learn to cope better with stress and challenges because they are more likely to have the confidence to talk about their problems and look for solutions together. By ending the day in a relaxed manner, such as by reading a story or playing a little game, you give your child a feeling of security. Sufficient sleep is also an important prerequisite for children to start the next day rested. Consistent bedtimes support children's well-being. Overall, a relaxed daily routine reduces stress and promotes harmonious family life, positively affecting children's physical and emotional health.

Mother wakes her daughter in bed in the morning.

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A relaxed start to the day

Every child has their own rhythm when it comes to getting up early in the morning. While some children are little early risers, others like to spend even more time in dreamland. It is very helpful to plan enough time in the morning. If all family members get up a few minutes earlier, the day usually gets off to a much more relaxed start. Lay out clothes with your child the night before, to avoid morning stress over choosing an outfit. Gently awaken your child with soft light or their favorite song for a positive start to the day. Take a moment to warmly greet your child with a ›Good morning‹ and a hug. You might even bring a smile to your little late riser's face by gently tickling their nose, hand, or foot with a soft feather, thereby expressing love and support. This will give your child the feeling of being loved and supported. Cuddle up in bed with your child on weekends or during vacations, read to them or talk about your plans for the weekend. Tumbling or romping in bed are also always popular with children. These little moments of togetherness enrich everyday family life and start the day with something special.

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Joint activities

Everyday life offers numerous opportunities to promote children's development in a playful and loving way. By consciously taking time each day to experience activities together, such as a ball game or card game, you support your child's development in a varied way. Find out more in the section below.

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Ten minutes of family time

Our daily environment offers numerous opportunities to promote children's development. Just 10 minutes a day will enhance your child's skills. Use this time to focus on joint activities and your child's interests. This routine provides valuable family time and strengthens the bond between you and your child. Regular activities such as reading a story or playing together will improve your child's language skills, for example. You improve your child's basic math skills by counting together while throwing a ball or singing a number song together and moving to it. Also encourage your child to talk about their daily experiences or worries. Through playful activities, your child will develop their creativity, imagination, motor skills as well as cognitive and social skills. A loving and attentive environment gives your child a feeling of safety and security and enables them to develop to the best of their ability. Here are some playful activities to support your child's development.

Mother shows her daughter how to tie shoes.

Dancing to a song
Promotes motor skills and a sense of rhythm.

Singing a song together
Promotes language skills and musical expression.

Reading a story aloud
Promotes vocabulary and imagination.

Counting steps
Promotes counting and number sense through play.

Tying a bow
Promotes fine motor skills and independence.

Reciting a rhyme
Promotes language development and memory.

Typing in a telephone number
Promotes memory and fine motor skills.

Weighing something
Promotes understanding of quantities and measurements.

Tying a knot
Promotes dexterity and hand-eye coordination.

Listening to a audio play
Promotes listening and imagination.

Throwing and catching a ball
Promotes hand-eye coordination and motor skills.

Playing a board game
Promotes social skills and strategic thinking.

Playing a card game
Promotes memory and concentration skills.

Making water ice from juice
Promotes scientific understanding and a love of experimentation.

Tidying up something in the playroom
Promotes a sense of order and responsibility.

Massaging with a hedgehog ball
Promotes sensory awareness and relaxation.

Doing puzzles together
Promotes spatial awareness and patience.

Counting small quantities
Promotes basic math skills and number sense.

Distinguishing right from left
Promotes spatial orientation and body awareness.

Balancing on a chalk line
Promotes balance and body control.

Playing hide and seek
Promotes agility and strategic thinking.

Kneading a cake dough
Promotes fine motor skills and stimulates interest in baking.

Taking a walk
Promotes closeness to nature and observation skills.

Watching birds in the garden
Promotes patience and an interest in wildlife.

Counting forwards and backwards
Promotes mathematical understanding and number knowledge.

Doing crafts together
Promotes fine motor skills and creativity.

A robin sits on a blooming apple branch and sings.

Nature is the best playground for children to awaken curiosity and discover the joy of life.

Promote holistic development

By encouraging their children to actively experience and explore everyday life with all their senses, parents are promoting their development in a holistic way. Discover more suggestions in the ›Support activities‹ category to support your child's motor, cognitive and emotional skills.

A boy and his mother are harvesting sweet potatoes.

Children expand their skills through their own experiences and personal encounters in their everyday environment.

Experience everyday life with all your senses

Children learn best by actively exploring their environment and gaining their own experiences in everyday life. In the early years, it is crucial that children listen, perceive and actively explore their surroundings in order to form their own images and ideas of the world around them. Touching an object forms an image of its shape and size in the child's mind. When listening to stories, the child visualizes inner images, which builds up neural pathways. These inner images are essential for the development of imagination, perception, spatial awareness and creativity. Excessive media consumption, such as the use of tablets, computers, and television, presents children with images that may not allow their own imagination to develop sufficiently. In contrast, learning with all the senses – through touch, smell, hearing and sight – enables a comprehensive understanding of the everyday environment. Encourage activities in which your child experiences their everyday environment with all their senses, such as a walk through the forest or park to discover animals and plants. A visit to the farm allows your child to feed and pet animals, thereby learning about the important role animals play in our lives, such as understanding where eggs and milk come from.

A little Asian girl is feeding a chicken.

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