An article by Violet Chisulo (Safe and Sound former manager)

Research has established that the brain has a highly robust and well developed capacity to change in response to environmental demands. The degree of adaptation depends on the type of learning that is taking place, with long-term learning leading to more profound modification. It is said that the most profound period of learning occurs from birth to about seven as that is said to be the period when children experience extraordinary growth in the brain, hence the importance of Early Childhood Development (ECD). The learning environment is crucial to the learning process. Environmental factors conducive to improved brain functioning are everyday matters – the quality of social environment and Interactions, nutrition, physical exercise and sleep – all are too obvious but are so easily over looked in their impact on what we call education. The poet Dorothy Law Nolte says Children learn what they live, and that in my mind sums up what ECD is all about. ECD creates a world with a certain set of skills, values and attitudes that children absorb for life. In my opinion there are four broad sets that need to be embraced as they form the core of ECD, these are namely: Personal Development, Diversity, Education and Citizenship. These core elements cover the following aspects for me.