The building blocks for learning happen in stages, each one following the other in a natural sequence. Starting with a solid foundation can help to keep the rest of the stack steady.

Your child’s early learning is a bit like this. A good foundation in infancy and early childhood can help to support all later stages of development. When one or more of these early stages has been missed, or is incomplete, the stack can become a bit “wobbly”.

As a result, your child may struggle in the classroom, finding tasks such as reading, writing and spelling challenging to master. They may also find it difficult to make friends and regulate their emotions and try to avoid sport and PE classes.

Play is Essential for Early Development

Where does all this important learning happen? Through play. Play is not a luxury, it is an essential part of those early building blocks, a place where your child is discovering those important abilities they will need for the rest of their lives.

The importance of the first seven years as preparation for lifelong learning cannot be underestimated. Your child’s development cannot be rushed. Each stage matters, and prepares them for the next part of their growth process.

Baby Loves Having you Close and Sharing in their Play

The first building block is safety and security, and this comes from you. Baby will love having you around, learning basic social and communication skills through being with you. She loves you to connect and tune in to her needs, and will develop self esteem through feeling safe and secure.

Through you, she will learn how to make sense of her feelings, and how to soother herself when feeling stressed or overwhelmed. This forms the foundation for later successful relationships throughout life.

Relationship building won’t come from TV and other electronic devices. Did you know you were this important?

The Importance of Floor Play and Tummy Time

Through floor play and tummy time baby is building early motor skills, and loves to have you share the floor time fun. Starting with lying on his tummy and learning to lift his head up against gravity, he will gradually progress to lifting his upper body. As his arms strengthen, he will lift more of his body off the floor.

Once he has gained control of his limbs, he will learn to develop those fine muscles in his fingers that are so necessary for handwriting. This muscle strength will help him to later be able to sit still and focus in the classroom.

This won’t happen if he is propped up on cushions in front of a television or iPad.

From Crawling to Walking and Talking

Eventually baby will progress to crawling, cruising furniture, then finally walking, at a round 12 months. At this point, you will start to notice she is more interested in talking and developing language.

Talking to baby will help her to learn to how to communicate using language. She started to tune into your voice even before she was born, “feeling” sound vibrations through the bony parts of her body.

Language is much more than simply speaking. Baby is also learning to understand changes in your vocal tone, and recognise you facial expressions and body language.

Developing a Preference for Left or Right Hand

As your toddler grows, you will notice that he is using both hands equally for activities, and hasn’t yet developed a preference for left or right. This is normal, and a preference won’t be fully established until he is between 6 and 7 years old.

Nature equipped your baby with invisible midlines, dividing her body both vertically and horizontally. This allows each side of the body to develop fully. They will gradually integrate as she gets older, as the two hemispheres of the brain link up and start to specialise.

The First Seven Years

The next stage or building block, is the achievement of right dominance by the time they are 6 or 7. Now your child is equipped for abstract learning – reading, writing, spelling, written expression and maths.

The ability to sit still and focus in a classroom is built on all these early sensory-motor foundations. Once all these early building blocks are in place, your small child should be able to sit still, regulate their emotions, and connect with others. All of this has happened in the first seven years.

Early Development Happens Naturally

All these stages happen naturally, especially through free play, in a safe place where your child can explore their world, knowing that either you, or another attuned caregiver, will be there to offer support when needed. In this way your child will be gradually building self esteem, and confidence in their abilities.

There is no need for fancy gadgets, or digital devices. The floor is your baby’s first playground, and you are their first teacher.

All these sensory and motor skills are coming together and integrating all the time, with everything your child does. And the good news is, most of this happens through play.

We often become aware of these early gaps or immaturities when a child starts school, and has trouble sitting still and maintaining focus. Reading and spelling are challenging, and handwriting is generally poor when motor skills are not properly developed.

Readiness for School

Your young child learns mostly through watching you, feeling connected. Safety and security are the basis for learning and this comes from being with someone who understands them.

Readiness for school does not come from flash cards and fancy devices. It comes from lots of time spent:

• playing and physical activity,
• integrating sensory and motor skills,
• running, jumping, rolling, hopping,
• walking along a balance beam,
• skipping, jumping rope,
• playing catch,
• kicking a ball,
• clapping games,
• songs and rhymes, and
• time spent in nature

All of these physical activities are helping to build those early foundations necessary for learning.

Preparation for Handwriting

You can support your child’s preparation for handwriting, strengthening those tiny muscles in their hands, and coordinating their vision with hand movements,  with activities such as:

• cutting paper with scissors,
• drawing and painting,
• puzzles,
• board games,
• clay modelling,
• beading,
• finger knitting,
• string games and
• digging in the garden or sand tray.

None of this can be achieved in front of a television or other electronic device. In fact, the opposite is usually true, and screen time can actually delay your child’s early development.

In other words, having fun, and connecting with other children, and caring adults is the best foundation you can give your child.

When children are Struggling

Trying to keep up in school when early stages of development are incomplete is like asking a child to run with a broken leg. No-one would ask a child to do this, but we still expect them to sit still and learn in a classroom.

Children usually know when they are not keeping up with their peers. Many become frustrated, struggling to keep up in class. So often, know they can do the work, but have no idea of why it isn’t happening for them. One of my students described this experience as “smart but feeling dumb”.

Parenting Support

For the last 20 years, I have been helping parents who are looking for answers to their child’s learning difficulties, temper tantrums and emotional outbursts.

I often suggest the Circle Of Security Parenting program to help parents understand those challenging behaviours, meltdowns and mood swings. This internationally recognised program will help you to learn how to build closer relationships through recognising your child’s needs and how they might be feeling.

Counselling can Help

If you are concerned about your child’s learning and/or behaviour, counselling can help you to raise happy, healthy children who are able to achieve to their potential to live meaningful lives, and find their place in the world.

Download our FREE e-book Tips for Raising Happy, Healthy Children

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