By MAILES KABENGO –
WHAT children experience in their early years particularly zero to five years old is said to have a significant impact on their psychological, emotional, and mental developmental outcomes later on as they grow older in life.
Research has illustrated that during early childhood, the human brain grows to 90 per cent of its adult size by the age of three.
Initial babyhood characterises the period when young children reach progressive milestones that includes emotional regulations and attachment, mother tongue language development, reasoning development and motor skills.
All these indicators can be significantly delayed when children experience ineffective care-giving, environmental stressors, and other negative risk factors that can affect the brain and may seriously compromise a child’s psychological, social-emotional and mental growth and development.
Due to that, it is imperative for parents or caregivers like nuns and those who work with children such as pre-school teachers to understand exactly what happens during these early stages of development.
The secrets to understanding early childhood health growth and recognising the important roles that these periods play in young children’s health and wellbeing is focusing on conditions that can seriously limit children’s abilities to learn, grow, play and become healthy adults.
Applying health interventions that address social determinants of health in young children during their early years can prevent children from disorienting as they grow old.
The early years offers once in a lifetime an opportunity to shape a child’s ability to learn.
This can be accomplished by fostering knowledge and nurturing families, parents and caregivers, creating supportive and safe environments in homes, schools and communities, increasing access to high quality social health care.
Patricia Mupeta Bobo, a Pediatrician at the Ministry of Health, says playful parenting stimulates the child’s brain development process from the time of conception and early years.
Dr Bobo, a medical practitioner specialised in children and their diseases, says playful parenting is a vital aspect because it helps the child’s brain to develop quicker and allow the child to learn faster.
Parents do this unconsciously without realising the vital role it plays in shaping the child’s ability to learn and contribute meaningfully to society.
She says babies can understand what adults say to them in words and also understand rejection, joy and sorrow in their parents or caregiver.
Dr Bobo, who is Ministry of Health Child Health assistant director, says parents must start interacting with the baby even before the child is born.
This can be done by talking and singing to the baby. The child will recognise the mother’s or father’s voice when he or she grows up.
She added that the aspect of playful parenting is as important as the nutrition, safety and security of the young child, because a well stimulated child is able to learn faster and has excellent intellectual growth.
Dr Bobo further added that children can detect whether an environment is toxic or not at a very early stage.
Thus creating a conducive nurturing environment for the children is key in ensuring that the children are able to explore and bold with their parents or caregivers.
She says parents must be amusing, funny and exciting so that children explore new things in their world.
Dr Bobo adds that parents can express their love to their child in different ways that is embracing, cuddling, smiling and laughing together, chanting and massaging their young child.
These, however, can be achieved through parents and caregivers understanding exactly what the children really need in their early years to allow them meet their children’s needs effectively and ensure that they have the best start in life.
Some Zambian parents understand the significant role that playful parenting plays in the cognitive development of their children.
Nevertheless, mothers and fathers have little time to spend with their children due to their busy work schedules.
Sunday Bwalya Mushipi says spending time with his kids is the most exciting moment for him but he has little or no time to interact with his little ones because of his bush work time table.
According to Mr Mushipi, his wife is the one who spends quality with the children.
Mr Mushipi says he understands that both parents are the main providers of nutrition, stimulation, love and protection that every baby needs to build their brain’s architecture, but material needs must also be provided too.
Brenda Zimba, a mother of three who sales assorted fruits on the street of Lusaka city, shared the same sentiments.
Despite being a mother, Ms Zimba says she sometimes even forgets to say good morning to her little ones not that she doesn’t care but because she doesn’t realise the importance of being involved in the activities of her children.
Zambia’s First Lady, Esther Lungu, says raising awareness on playful parenting to both parents and caregivers could help to provide the best nurturing environments for children and their developmental progress could be adequate.
To understand the significance of the early years of a child, the First Lady said this recently through an electronic platform when she launched the National Playful parenting campaign: ‘Play to learn, learn to Play’, under the Ministry of Health in Partnership with United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and LEGO Foundation.
The campaign is aimed at providing awareness on the importance of the early stages of child development, through playful parenting by way of parents interacting with their children from the time of conception.
Ms Lungu says playful parenting is a once in a lifetime opportunity that can be challenging and rewarding at the same time.
According to the First Lady, parents must improve their interactions between them and their children in homes as a way of improving their family bonds and mental strength for intellectual and social growth of their children.
She added that the campaign is intended to spread awareness about the importance of playful parenting, thus parents must find time to interact with children despite the pressure of the new normal amid COVID-19.
United Nations Resident Coordinator Coumba Mar Gadio highlighted the benefits of playful parenting.
Dr Gadio said playful parenting is the core foundation of the brain development of the child.
She explained that children explore their world, develop their vocabulary and develop their emotional strength through playful parenting.
UNICEF national Country representative Noala Skinner highlighted that children learn faster and quicker when they feel safe, protected and cared for by their parents.
Therefore, parents should ensure that they create a health nurturing environment for their young children in their homes. – ZANIS