The First 2000 Days
There are approximately 2000 days between when a child is born and when the child is ready to start Basic Education. During this first 2000 days, the brain develops at its fastest speed, creating it’s architecture and forming either strong or weak links. Links that set the foundation for all learning.
While early child development is a dynamic and iterative process that is not necessarily predetermined, it is critical for both cognitive, social, physical and emotional well being especially for children whose lives have been ravaged by trauma. It is now been proven that early child development has a gigantic impact throughout life.
For example, early life experiences are:
• strongly predictive of how a child will learn in primary school
• a predictor of school performance, adolescent pregnancy and involvement with the criminal justice system in the adolescent years
• linked to increased risk of drug and alcohol misuse and increased risk of antisocial and violent behaviour
• related to obesity elevated blood pressure and depression in 20–40-year-olds
• predictive of coronary heart disease and diabetes in 40–60-year-olds
• related to premature ageing and memory loss in older age groups.
But what does all these hold for Internally Displaced children, children who have lost their families in the cruellest matter, who might as well have encountered or escaped an unprecedented level of violence at a rather early age? It is a proven fact that children who experience extreme stress in their early years are at greater risk for developing cognitive, behavioural and emotional difficulties, which also reduces and delays their overall developmental processes. Very young children are particularly vulnerable in situations of crisis, instability and violence. The formative years play a vital role in the formation of intelligence, personality and social behaviour. In their early years, children encounter some of life’s most significant learning experiences and they develop competencies that are the underpinning of all later learning. Good health and nutrition support the psychological and social development of the young child. Likewise, social interaction satisfies the child’s need to grow socially, emotionally and cognitively and has a measurable impact on the child’s health, nutrition and later learning capacity.
Even for Internally Displaced children, setting the right precedence for a strong educational journey by developing projects and tools that support early brain development in infants and toddlers yields significant returns in the long run through more years of education, enhance intellectual capacity, employability, and better health as an adult.
