Children Need Food For The Mind, Not Just The Body
I AM a visitor to your beautiful country, working on a project that investigates services provided to orphans and vulnerable children aged 0-8 years.
In this capacity, I have been visiting homes and orphanages where
these children spend their days.
I must say that I have come to notice some facts.
Firstly, I believe that for the most part children in Namibia
are loved and cared for in the best way that the situation
allows.
However, I do not think that many people realise that early
experiences set the foundation for a child's behaviour,
development, attitudes, and psycho-social and physical health for
the rest of his or her life.
Children, from birth onward, need active interaction with their
environment.
They need to be talked to and sung to.
They need to have interesting things to look at and someone to
put into words the things that they are seeing.
Playing with sand and water, with pots and pans, making
"pictures" with a stick in the sand, with some chalk on a slate or
with a crayon and paper - are important activities which are the
precursors of reading and writing (even when the picture looks like
tiny dots or scribbles).
Playing with different sizes of sticks or stones and making
designs or sorting pieces of fabric represent pre-mathematics.
Giving children pots or plastic dishes to "stack", flour mixed
with water to shape, a ball of grass to throw are all "educational
activities" for children from age one onward.
Children also need to use large muscles - to run, climb, push
and pull things.
They need to engage in imaginative play - that is pretending to
be a mother or father or truck driver or doctor.
This pretend play helps them to learn how to behave in socially
acceptable ways.
Doing "real work," such as helping with household chores, also
provides important learning experiences, but children should not be
given responsibilities at too young an age.
This creates anxiety, which can lead to depression in later
life.
While many children are lacking in sustainable nutrition,
shelter and health services and while many organisations and
individuals are working hard to provide these, I hope all remember
that "feeding" the brain with stimulating and interesting
activities is also a fundamental need and right for young
children.
If every community had an (affordable) creche where children
before school age could engage in these learning activities, even
if only for a few hours per day, I believe that we would see some
radical improvements in educational and social attainments and, in
the long run, in national economic development.
Jacqueline Hayden
Windhoek
I must say that I have come to notice some facts.Firstly, I believe
that for the most part children in Namibia are loved and cared for
in the best way that the situation allows.However, I do not think
that many people realise that early experiences set the foundation
for a child's behaviour, development, attitudes, and psycho-social
and physical health for the rest of his or her life.Children, from
birth onward, need active interaction with their environment.They
need to be talked to and sung to.They need to have interesting
things to look at and someone to put into words the things that
they are seeing.Playing with sand and water, with pots and pans,
making "pictures" with a stick in the sand, with some chalk on a
slate or with a crayon and paper - are important activities which
are the precursors of reading and writing (even when the picture
looks like tiny dots or scribbles).Playing with different sizes of
sticks or stones and making designs or sorting pieces of fabric
represent pre-mathematics.Giving children pots or plastic dishes to
"stack", flour mixed with water to shape, a ball of grass to throw
are all "educational activities" for children from age one
onward.Children also need to use large muscles - to run, climb,
push and pull things.They need to engage in imaginative play - that
is pretending to be a mother or father or truck driver or
doctor.This pretend play helps them to learn how to behave in
socially acceptable ways.Doing "real work," such as helping with
household chores, also provides important learning experiences, but
children should not be given responsibilities at too young an
age.This creates anxiety, which can lead to depression in later
life.While many children are lacking in sustainable nutrition,
shelter and health services and while many organisations and
individuals are working hard to provide these, I hope all remember
that "feeding" the brain with stimulating and interesting
activities is also a fundamental need and right for young
children.If every community had an (affordable) creche where
children before school age could engage in these learning
activities, even if only for a few hours per day, I believe that we
would see some radical improvements in educational and social
attainments and, in the long run, in national economic
development.Jacqueline Hayden
Windhoek