Early Childhood Development

Growing up in South America Growing up in Peru, I had the opportunity to live in two different cities. One city is located in the forest part of Peru and by the time I was a teenager it was considered a poor city. In this city it is not uncommon for young teenage girls to become mothers when they are just turning 16 years old. Sometimes these girls will try to create a family with their boyfriends, but because they do not have money to buy a house, they end living with their parents. I remember one of my neighbours becoming a father when he was 16 years old. He and his girlfriend used to have one small piece of bread and a bag of tea each day for breakfast - not very nutritious for two teenagers, especially when the girl was pregnant.

This type of situation wasn’t only bad for the two teenagers but also for the baby. Although the baby was not born yet, its development was dependent on the life-giving nutrition of the mother.

The lack of a good nutrition put the baby at risk. If the baby were to survive, then the challenge would continue every day because of the living conditions of the parents. The teenagers would not only have a new-born to look after and provide for, but they would likely not be able to get good jobs due to a lack of school qualifications. Even if the mother did get a job, she may not be able to work many hours due to the task of taking care of the baby. Therefore, the income for the new family would depend solely on the everyday effort of the new dad, or the couple would become dependent on their relatives. This situation is far too common in Peru, and it is not uncommon to see children of young parents being left alone when they are toddlers and being cared by the neighbours or any other relative. It results in children who are not experiencing the good nutrition, protection, and stimulation they require to grow and develop.

I also spent some summers at Cartavio, a town in the Coast of Peru where I used to help my Aunt in a local kindergarten. It was there I noticed the difference between children from a wealthy town and from a poor city. Children from the wealthy town had a completely different understanding of the world. They were more secure, more eager to ask questions, more alert and were growing strong. Most of them also had materials, toys and games at their home that helped them with their stimulation and learning process. Moreover, parents and grandparents were on board to make sure that their children were not alone. Raising their children was seen as a high priority. These children were on the path to fulfilling their God-given potential, and not just because they came from a wealthy home, but because they were receiving all they needed to develop healthily in their younger years, to set them up for later life.

The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness about early childhood development and the importance of nurturing, stimulating and protecting our children during the first two years of life.

Rather than providing answers this paper uses the Faith-Based Facilitation (FBF) process to look for ways of to implement a system which will help our children to develop to their God-given potential.

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The FBF process uses tools that can help us as a church improve the life of children, especially those who live in developing countries. The Salvation Army Building Deeper Relationships, an IHQ publication, defines FBF as ‘a way of helping people think, talk, explore and respond to their issues in the light of faith. The main goal of this process is to develop healthier people and communities who enjoy deeper relationships’ (pg. 3). This process has a five-step cycle which includes reflecting on Christian principals. This will help us as we discuss the issue of children not reaching their full potential in countries in South America, especially Peru.

Step 1: What is the Issue?

Early Childhood Development Child development is the sequence of physical, language, thought and emotional changes that occur in a child from birth to the beginning of adulthood. During this process a child progresses from dependency on their parents to independence. This is a natural process that every child goes through. It is so natural that we often don’t even stop to considerer how it properly occurs.

After a baby is born, we can quickly see the baby experiencing simple, yet outstanding, changes such as tracking with their eyes, smiling, sitting, babbling, and crawling. These are all considered crucial milestones of development (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). These milestones are signs that help track a child’s development. However sometimes, we take for granted that our children will naturally grow healthy throughout their childhood years, without thinking about how it occurs. We do not see the process of reaching milestones as crucial for the child’s later experience. Regardless, every child goes through a deep and maybe not obvious development which affects their wellbeing and ultimately affects the rest of their childhood and adulthood.

Although development occurs throughout childhood, the development that occurs during the first 1000 days of a child’s life is critical. The first 1000 days encompasses the prenatal period and the 4

time before a child’s third birthday. This is considered a precious time for a child’s brain as during this time their neurons are creating connections (The first 1000 days of life: the brain’s window of opportunity) and creating the basic structure of the brain (Center on the Developing Child).

Experiences during the early years physically shape the structure of a child’s brain because the brain is more malleable and more receptive to outside experiences (Vegas and Santibañez 1-2).

However, it cannot be taken for granted that every child will meet these milestones and consequently develop to their full potential if we do not equip them with the essential components such as a good nutrition, intentional protection, and a healthy stimulation.

Healthy early childhood development is critical for all children, but especially for children who are considered particularly vulnerable. More than 250 million children who are less than 5 years old are at a high risk of not reaching their full development and many of these children live in low and middle-income countries (Black et al. 77). It is therefore essential that a child’s development is seen as a high priority, especially in places where there are high rates of poverty. However, these are often unfortunately the places where a child’s development is not considered a priority.

The lack of good nutrition during development leads to stunting Healthy development in the first 1000 days leads to a successful childhood and adulthood.

However, lack of good nutrition can lead to stunting, impaired development. Stunting is defined as the impaired growth and development that children experience from poor nutrition, repeated infection, and inadequate psychosocial stimulation (“Stunting in a nutshell”). When children are neglected by their parents and not taken care of, they often become stunted, revealing the lack of nutrition that they had in the early stage of their life. A child that suffers from stunting is physically smaller than the average child of its age (“Stunting in a nutshell”).

According to UNICEF, 155 million children in the world are stunted due to lack of nutrition and access to good health care (Early Moments Matter for every child). Stunting also affects the brain’s growth and intelligence. The World Health Organisation reports that the consequences of stunting include an increased risk of infection and mortality, poor cognitive and motor development, and lack of learning capacity and school performance. These consequences have a big effect on health development and human capital development1 (“The Healthy Growth Project”). In other words, through good education and appropriate health system children can attend schools which will help them to accumulate knowledge that will enable them to be productive in their society. However, the long-term consequences of stunting include a reduced ability to succeed in formal education, lower productivity wages, and poor reproductive health.

Child Development and Poverty There are many parents who work hard to ensure the future of their children. However, the living conditions of developing countries can often cause the dreams of parents and children to vanish

Human capital is the life-long accumulation of knowledge, skills and health that enables people to be efficient members of society (Gatti 14).

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due to the lack of government security, health systems, economic instability, and formal education.

Poverty is one of the biggest restraints to any family’s efforts. In 2015, 736 million people lived on less than $1.90USD a day (“Overview”). The story is the same in Peru. Trying to survive day by day may lead to a parent’s decision to work for longer hours or even to leave their towns or cities to find more lucrative work in other cities. Many parents think that leaving their children with grandparents while they find a better job is the best decision, for them and their children.

South America, including the Caribbean, is considered one of the regions where poverty and inequality begins at birth (Vegas and Santibañez 5) - 3.6 million children aged 3 to 4 years do not have an adequate early development for their age (“Children in Latin America and the Caribbean”).

Children who live in extreme poverty and with less educated mothers are at risk of presenting with delays in development (“Children in Latin America and the Caribbean”). On the contrary, children from the wealthiest families are more likely to attend early child education programmes than children from the poorest families (“Investing in Education”). In addition, chronic malnutrition is 4 times higher for children who live in extreme poverty; 5.1 million children under the age of 5 are affected by chronic malnutrition (“Children in Latin America and the Caribbean”). Moreover, 24,000 children under the age of three live in residential care centres.

For vulnerable children, who live in poor countries, especially within South America, a healthy first 1000 days is essential to help ensure children are starting from the same base as children from more developed countries. When this occurs, children who have a healthy development acquire the skills necessary to attenuate the effects of the low socioeconomic status on brain development (Black et al. 79). A 20-year study showed that children from poor households who received highquality stimulation at a young age earned an average of 25 percent more as adults than those who did not receive these early interventions (Early Moments Matter for every child). According to UNICEF, children who attend early childhood education are two times more likely to have an adequate early childhood development (“Investing in Education”). Children in a long-term study in Guatemala who were not stunted were much more likely to escape poverty as adults and earned incomes 5 to 50 percent higher than those who were stunted as children (“Early Childhood Development,” World Bank).

In my experience, in many places in South America, the culture is to expect children to behave as adults. Parents do not want to get distracted by them. Sometimes, they want babies to be quiet and understand things as adults do. We tend to think children will automatically behave. We also think that they will learn if we teach them in the same way as adults or if we simply speak to them.

However, children learn in different ways than adults do. Not all children learn at the same time or develop at same pace (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). We need to understand that children are not adults, and they do not comprehend as an adult. Children learn while they are playing because play helps children to explore a world they can master (“Building Babies' Brains through Play: Mini Parenting Master Class”). Thus, they do not learn for the first time at school, but they learn every day from birth. The idea of children being ‘little adults’ who will be completely developed after attending school or a university is creating a disruption in the early development 6

of Peruvian children and in South America in general because parents are not giving the necessary attention to their children for them to have a successful development. The healthy development of our children does not just happen by chance; it is only achieved as a part of an intentional plan that involves parents during this process.

Children who live in cities of extreme poverty such as Puno or in the native communities of Peru are likely to suffer more than children who live in wealthier areas. They do not have the best opportunities to develop healthily due to lack of access to good nutrition, protection and stimulation. Parents in these communities generally must work for longer hours creating a lack of connection between parents and children. As a student teacher in Peru, I saw many of the children who were growing up in these communities struggling at school and lagging their peers during the learning process. However, I also saw how this picture could be turned around by parents, who were able, investing time in their children during the early years of development.

When a child is developing healthily it not only helps the child during that stage of their life, but it also increases the likelihood of future healthy development, opening up opportunities and ultimately leading to an increase in the likelihood of the child being able to break the poverty cycle that they have grown up in. When children who are the less privileged have the opportunity to attend university, they are more likely to obtain a good job, and consequently receive the necessary income to provide the opportunity to move out of poverty. These opportunities lead to a better future and a better chance of having their own families who will not experience the same conditions that they did as a child.

Step 2: Describe and analyse What is Healthy Early Childhood Development?

Early childhood development is a maturational and interactive process. This process results in an ordered progression of perceptual, motor, cognitive, language, socio-emotional, and self-regulation skills (Black et al. 79). These skills are acquired by children during the first 1000 days of their life (including gestation) and form the base to build other new skills on as children continue growing and attending formal education. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), healthy development means that children of all abilities, including those with special health care needs, are able to grow up where their social, emotional and educational needs are met (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

The process of developing may sound very simple, but it cannot be accomplished if children are not allowed to explore. One way of exploring the world is through playing. Playing helps children to understand the physical world, themselves and other people. Through playing, children develop in five different areas: perceptual, motor, cognitive, language and self-regulation.

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Source: Nelson and Others 2017 [Taken from Learning to Realize Education’s Promise, The World Bank]

Areas of development Perceptual Development The perceptual area of development is referred to as a child’s sensory response to their environment, in other words, how a child’s five senses are involved in a reaction. The development of vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch are the result of a healthy perceptual development that will help children to use their senses to explore and gather information about their world (Hom, D. et al. 5). Perceptual development also helps children learn where their body is in space and allows them to respond and move accordingly (“Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age 3” 56).

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Motor Development Motor development is marked by a child’s ability to control their body, including gross and fine motor skills (Hom, D. et al. 13). Gross motor development helps children to roll over, sit up, crawl walk, and run while the fine motor development helps to obtain abilities such as drawing, writing, feeding and dressing (“Perceptual and Motor Development Domain”). Children start developing gross motor skills as soon as they are born, displayed by increasing control and movement of large muscle groups in the torso, head, neck, legs, and arms (“Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age 3” 57).

Cognitive Development Cognitive development is linked to the thinking and internal processing. This is how a child perceives, internalises, and stores information in the brain. In their first year of life, babies tend to develop implicit theories 2 on how the world of people, other living things, objects, and numbers operates (LaRue and Kelly 89). This process helps them to learn and to develop mental capabilities, such as memory, reasoning, and problem solving (“Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age 3” 91). Children also build their logic and reasoning skills through trial and error, imitation, and cause and effect (“Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age 3” 113).

For example, a child will cry when he has any need. After the baby sees the behaviour and the reaction of an adult, the child will try this behaviour again in the future to communicate and test ‘the hypothesis’ of his parent reacting to his need (“Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age 3” 135).

Language Development The areas of development are not disconnected. The acquisition of language is linked to the cognitive process. Those at the same time are linked with the child’s perceptual development. The beginning of the acquisition of language involves nonverbal communication (“Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age 3” 73). Early communication efforts such as looking, crying, and babbling are crucial because they begin the developmental progression to later language abilities (Hom, D. et al. 6). During the development and acquisition of language, children develop expressive and receptive language skills. Receptive language is related to the way children internalise the information they are receiving and start developing from birth. While expressive language starts to develop later. The development of language skills is progressive starting with the acquisition of sounds, vocabulary, syntax, grammar, and later it will include writing and reading skills (LaRue and Kelly 108). Over time children will increase the length of sentences, and the ability to express new ideas through words (LaRue and Kelly 108).

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Implicit theories contain causal principles and causal relations that enable children to predict, explain, and reason about relevant phenomena (LaRue and Kelly 89).

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Socio-Emotional Development Socio-emotional competence has been described as a multidimensional construct that contributes to the ability to understand and manage emotions and behaviour; to make decisions and achieve goals; and to establish and maintain positive relationships, including feeling and showing empathy for others (LaRue and Kelly 139). The social-emotional development depends on positive and nurturing relationships with adults (“Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age 3” 29).

Self- Regulation Development Self-regulation development refers to how children react and respond to their environment based on their emotions, bodies, and in the environment itself. The acquisitions of self-regulation skills include self-comforting, self-control of feelings and behaviour, imitation, and shared use of space and materials (LaRue and Kelly 142). Parents play an important role because children rely on them to act as the external regulators, or co-regulators (“Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age 3”11).

Development of the brain The development of the brain starts approximately after the second week of conception and continues until a person is 20 years old (Tierney and Nielson 2). However, early childhood development, or the first 1000 days is of extreme importance as 80 percent of a child’s brain development happens during this time (“Baby's Brain Begins Now: Conception to Age 3”). It is also important to note that the prenatal development of the brain is under genetical control, but the postnatal stage depends on a gene-environment interaction during the early stages of life (Tierney and Nielson 2).

Prenatal formation of the brain At two weeks after conception, specialised cells of the embryo called neural plate cells begin to slowly fold onto themselves to form a tube structure that will gradually close its edges by the fourth week to finally become the brain and spinal cord. Around the seventh week, the first neurons and synapses start to develop in the spinal cord which will allow the foetus to make its first movements.

In return, these movements would provide sensory input to the brain to spurs on its development (“Baby's Brain Begins Now: Conception to Age 3”).

During the second trimester, the cerebral cortex’s folds, called gyri and sulci start to appear on the surface of the brain. These cerebral cortex’s folds give the wrinkled appearance to the brain.

Moreover, myelin which allows to process information faster appears on axons of some neurons.

Without myelin, our spinal cord would have to be 3 yards in diameter. In the last trimester, reflexes such as foetal breathing and responses to exterior stimuli are more frequent. At this stage, the cerebral cortex supports early learning (“Baby's Brain Begins Now: Conception to Age 3”).

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Postnatal development of the brain In the first year of children’s life, the cerebellum triples its size which can be linked to the motor development. Also, language circuits are consolidated in the frontal and temporal lobes (“Baby's Brain Begins Now: Conception to Age 3”). New-born babies learn to distinguish between human and objects. They can also distinguish between happy and sad expressions. In addition to that, they can recognise the voice of their mothers.

In the second year, the process of myelination increases. With this increase in myelin, the brain will be able to perform complex tasks. Children at this age are more aware. For example, they can recognise their reflection in a mirror, and the use of their name are more intentional and frequent.

At the age of three, the synaptic density reaches almost 200% of the adult level (“Baby's Brain Begins Now: Conception to Age 3”).

A child’s brain is very plastic when they are born and remains this way until they reach two years, or 1000 days. Plasticity is defined as the capacity for being moulded or altered (“Plasticity”). Many of us have seen Play-Doh. Our brains are like Play-Doh; especially the brains of babies, they are very mouldable. The experiences that babies have are like the tools used during Play-Doh to build the basic structure of the brain. Good experiences increase the ability of our children to learn new skills and to absorb and retain information for the future. In contrast, a poor involvement and the lack of interaction while babies are growing produces poor nutrients that will affect the development of the brain. Also, the neurons in their brain will create stronger neuron connections that will help with their memory. Allowing, children to store knowledge and positive experiences that will enhance their physical development (Black, et al. 80-81).

Does this process of development just happen?

Source: The Lancet Pp 3

For all these steps to take place it is essential that a child receives good nurturing care, starting from conception. There are many factors that are important to support an adequate nurturing care system that at the same time enriches the development of children. The Lancet defines nurturing care as a ‘stable environment that is sensitive to children's health and nutritional needs, with protection from threats, opportunities for early learning, and interactions that are responsive, emotionally supportive, and developmentally stimulating’ (Britto, et al. 91). UNICEF breaks this process into three basic components required for healthy development: nutrition, protection and responsive stimulation (Every Moments Matter for every child). These can be broken down further into five steps: health care, nutrition, protection (security and safety), responsive caregiving, and early learning (Black, et al. 77).

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Good nutrition This component is related to an adequate diet which is rich in nutrients that will lead an optimal development of a child. Breastfeeding for at least six months is also included in healthy diet because it builds strong minds and establishes a relationship between mother and child (Early Moments Matter for every child). UNICEF points out that over 80% of a baby’s brain is formed by the age of 3, and up to 75% of each meal goes to build the baby’s brain (“Early Childhood Development,” UNICEF). This fact shows the important role that a good nutrition plays in the life of a healthy child.

The way that we nurture our children will go inside of their brains and body and will affect their process of development. This good nutrition should start during in utero and continue after birth.

Stimulation This component is linked to love, play, talk, singing and reding books with a caring person. Good interactions between children and parents are called serve and return interaction because they trigger cognitive physical social and emotional development. The absence of those interactions is linked to delays in development (Early Moments Matter for every child).

Protection This component helps to create a safe environment that protect children from adversities such as violence, abuse, neglect, environment hazards that includes air pollution and other conflicts that put in danger the life of a child (Early Moments Matter for every child). Toxic stress affects the amygdala which is part of the brain that controls use of emotions and memory. When the amygdala grows too large, then the child will struggle to control fear and anxiety (Early Moments Matter for every child).

How can a parent know if a child is developing well?

There are ways to identify if a child is growing properly. You can observe a child and notice if some of the abilities and skills are being developed as the child grows. These skills are called milestones.

Some of the skills are as simple as a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving bye bye (“CDC's Developmental Milestones”). These skills are acquired while children are exploring, playing, speaking, moving, listening, observing, and receiving affection. This is one of the reasons why family bond is very important in the life of a child because at home, children will acquire those skills.

Something that is not often considered when thinking about a child developing is the love and affection a child receives. Studies have shown that children who are not loved or touched suffer of poor development. The lack of affection and protection delays a child’s development putting the child behind children who are the same age. A study of children from a Romanian orphanage revealed that children who lived there tended to have a high level of cortisone (hormone relate to stress). These children were slow to develop speech, motor skills and even physically. When these children were placed in good foster care before they were 15 months of age, they were seen to 12

develop language fast and were on a par with peers. After this time frame, these delays can become permanent, affecting the child for the rest of their lives (Black, et al. 80).

What leads to poor child development?

There are several factors that lead to poor child development. The principal one is poverty which limits the opportunities of a child to grow healthy. Poverty causes parents to look for desperate solutions to avoid famine and health issues. For children who live in rural areas this is increased due to poor access to good nutrition and lack of health systems. Lack of parenting skills due to young parents, single mothers, or the absence of parents also contributes. When this happens, grandparents, uncles, or even neighbours sometimes step in to play the role of parents.

However, the conditions of a child living with their grandparents can be emotionally disrupting for the child. Many grandparents are too old, and they do not have the time to take good care of their grandchildren. Parents who leave their children with their grandparents are often doing what they feel is the best for their child, to provide financially for the future. However, many parents forget or do not understand that the future of a child starts before a child attends school; it starts at home with their parents. Different brain systems enhance nurturing by supporting infant-mother attachment, emotional wellbeing, learning and memory, and attention; moreover, breastfeeding has short-term benefits for child health because it reduces mortality (Britto, et al. 95). Children living with their grandparents miss these early interactions. These early interactions are important because they are responsive, emotionally supportive, and developmentally stimulating. Also, those interactions protect children from negative effect of stress and adversity (Britto, et al 92).

When a child misses the opportunity of having a healthy first 1000 days, the basic development of the brain is missed because the brain’s development will not reach its full potential. For example, chronical malnutrition can lead to stunted brains. At this point, the child has already lost the early opportunity of a healthy development due to poor nutrition. The sad part of this story is that this process is not reversable which means that the child’s development has little hope of reaching full potential (Indrawati). As the brain’s capacity to change decreases with age (“Baby's Brain Begins Now: Conception to Age 3.”), the first 1000 days are crucial for development. A person has around 100 trillion neurons in their brain, and each of them can grow up to 70,000 branches or dendrites (Leaf 16). However, at birth, the brain has all the neurons that it will ever have (“Baby's Brain Begins Now: Conception to Age 3”). In the first year, the baby’s brain doubles in size and triples its size in the first 30 months of life (Leaf 9). These facts about the brain are often not talked about and therefore not widely understood by many parents but are an important reason to not neglect a young child’s development.

Often parents who live in developing countries take the decision that every member of their family has the responsibility of generating income. Unfortunately, some parents do not see investing in their child’s learning form a young age as something important since education’s pay offs are not instantaneous. Thus, the parent exchanges the future opportunity of their children for the present opportunity. As a result, they do not invest in education, and children go to work instead of 13

attending school. This is an oppressing situation because a child’s right to education is taken away by their own parents. Moreover, in this type of scenario, the life of the child is in danger. The first reason is that children are not adults and are not physically neither mentally prepared to work. The second reason is the risk of work. If a workplace by itself has some amount of risk for adults, for sure it will present higher risks for a child. Without doubt, child labour is an abuse to a child’s integrity, and against human’s rights. The idea of a child ‘helping his father or mother in their workplace’ is so natural in South America that nobody will see the action as child labour. It may get criticised, but nobody will see the action as child labour. For many people in South America, child labour would be defined when explicit exploitation is seen or when children trafficked by people outside the family or abused by others. Otherwise, it is seen as a learning process. In 2015, the Peruvian government estimated that more than a million children between the ages of 5 to 17 were engaged in hazardous child labour. 58.4% of these children worked in agriculture, fishing or mining (“Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Peru”).

What are the consequences of poor child development?

The consequences of poor childhood development are diverse and can often hinder the next stage of development. Early childhood development outcomes play an important role throughout life and can go on to affect income-earning capacity, productivity, longevity, health, and cognitive ability (Vegas and Santibañez xxiii). The lack of a healthy development also impacts on the learning process of a child. Their learning process can be slow which creates a gap between them and their peers who are experiencing healthy development. Children who do not learn at school can present more problems when they are trying to pursue a degree or carrier. Those who do not achieve any high level of education are more likely to be unemployed or obtain lower paid jobs. Other consequences can be more visible in the future but starts in the present. A significant rate of poor childhood development can affect the economy of a country. Children who are born into poor families are much more likely to have parents who have low levels of education, low-quality jobs, and low wages. They are also likely to have less access to public services, such as water and sanitation, health care, and education (Vegas and Santibañez xxv).

In any economy, health and education are two important components of growth and development (Todaro and Smith 382). If a child is not healthy, that means that the child will not attend school which hinders the learning process because healthier students learn more effectively (Todaro and Smith 384). If the child does not learn, then in its adult life this person would not contribute to his economy (Todaro and Smith 24). Disadvantaged young children who received high-quality early stimulation interventions as infants and toddlers earned up to 25 percent higher wages as adults – equivalent to adults who grew up in wealthier households (“Early Years: Resources.”)

Better educated mothers tend to have healthier children at any income level (Todaro and Smith 388). The poverty cycle can start with one person, but it affects an entire family. Remember my friend, the teenage mum? She had many dreams of being a professional, but her family was poor.

Her parents did not have any degrees of high level of education. In addition to that her father was in jail. For that reason, her mother had to work hard. Her grandmother or older sister sometimes 14

took care of her. If there was something to eat for lunch, she would eat, but her diet was basically carbs. She finished high school, but she struggled during university years. After her struggled, she decided to give up and she became a young mother. The unstable situation not only affected my friend but also her siblings. My friend and her three youngers sisters were mothers before they even were 18 years old. This story, unfortunately, was not uncommon in my city. My friends’ mother was also a young mother and the same was true for her great grandmother.

Isn’t it enough just to send your child to school?

Children learn while they are playing. The process of touching toys and discovering the differences between forms creates in their brain the definition of shapes. For example, when babies try to insert an object into another, they are learning about space and form. That is indicating and creating in their brains that certain objects are not quite similar. Although they do not yet understand completely the definition of shapes such as square, circle, triangle, etc., they are acquiring the knowledge that will improve in their school years. As children become older, they start to associate forms with words, and they will be able to articulate and define ‘shapes’ (LaRue and Kelly 119). This new knowledge will be the base to build their math knowledge and their thought process during kindergarten.

Children who have a poor development will grow. They will not miss the process entirely, but they will not take a full advantage of the process, acquiring all the skills and knowledge they require to excel and fulfil their God-given potential. Many of these children present with learning deficits.

Sometimes this can be confused with a lack of interest and poor attention while they are at school.

They are labelled as children who easily lose attention when they are doing any activity or who always feel tired. This disconnection during the learning process creates a gap between them and their peers. The new knowledge and skills acquired at school are built on capacities established during preconception and early childhood (Black, et al 81). Children who do not possess some of the foundational skills struggle when learning new skills as the skills learned in the early stages of life are not disassociated with each other. For example, the self-regulating skill which controls attention, thinking, impulses, emotions, and behaviour, together with the cognitive skills will allow children to persevere with tasks even when facing difficulties in problem solving or learning, fatigue, distraction, or decreased motivation (LaRue and Kelly 128).

Another example is how they learn to speak. Children are listening and repeating the words that they hear, however, if we do not talk to our children or encourage them to babble, they would not show interest in talking. Early reciprocal interactions provide a model for back and forth patterns that are important for social communication (“Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age 3” 74). Those simple abilities that our children learn when they are growing also impacts their personality and how they will perform in life. In other words, infants and children develop through adult-child and child-child relationship and interaction that will shape the development of the brain (Hom, et al. 30).

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United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Everyone dreams of having a better world in which inequality and poverty can be reduced and opportunities can be increased or expanded to the point that nobody is left behind. Leaving no one behind is one of the mottos of the United Nations (UN) which looks to empower every single person in the world while creating a sustainable development that interconnects the economic, social and environmental dimensions (“Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”). The UN especially focuses on the vulnerable people because they are the one who usually are left behind. To make this possible, the United Nations has implemented 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN describes the SDGs as the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all – leaving no one behind (United Nations). When a country is developing economically, it can be taken as a sign of prosperity and as a good opportunity to enhance the lifestyle of their citizens. However, the opportunity can be missed if we do not include the most vulnerable people, and children belong to this category since they cannot take care of themselves. It is our responsibility, as society, to ensure our children are being cared for, nurtured and cared for in order to develop to their full potential.

Step 3: Reflect and evaluate Children go through a deep developing process during the first years of their life. During these years, children grow physically, acquire motor skills, perceptual skills, language skills, socioemotional skills, and self-regulating skills. The first years of life are essential moments for cognitive development, involving the development of their brains and mind. However, there are multiple factors that can prevent the full development of children. Some of these factors are poverty, lack of a good health system, lack of good parenting knowledge and lack of access to good nutrients in early years of life. These factors can prevent children from growing to their full God-given potential.

The first years of life are a sensitive time where parents, family, and the community are involved and influence the development of children.

When I think of the opportunity that we have as a church to not only influence young children’s development but also to inspire parents, both Christians and those who are not Christians, it excites me. We as the church have a hard work to do, but we don’t have to do it in our own strength. As mentioned earlier, science shows us there are three components which are essential to a child’s development - nutrition, protection and stimulation, are essential. But I would argue that there is a fourth one that is also important, if not essential. This is the spiritual growth of a child. Children also need to grow in God’s knowledge and identity. Knowing their value as sons and daughters of God helps them to feel secure while they grow physically. Spending time nurturing their spiritual life is a privilege that not everyone has, but we do have as Christians. In the Salvation Army, we have the honour of working with the community to inspire and share our Christians principles and values. Those principles help our children to be successful when they face the future, help them to become strong to face the struggles of life. When children understand that they were loved before the creation of the world it changes their view on the world, especially those from broken families.

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Early childhood development needs to be a priority in our churches. If we want to make a difference in our world, then we should not forget our children. If we want to mirror and imitate Jesus, then we should show our love to our children. Children are not only our responsibilities on Sunday when they are attending Sunday School. It is not only our responsibility to tell them that God loves them but to show to them his real love, and one way of doing it is by being responsible for securing a healthy development for our children in our churches. God is the perfect example of a good father.

He does not just love us and then forget about our physical necessities, but instead he equips us with things that we need. It is our responsibility to be good stewards of children who are in our care.

What does the Bible say about children?

Children are Valuable In God’s perfect plan every single person is counted. Ephesians 1:4-6, reminds us that God has chosen every person before the creation of the world. Paul says, ‘For he [God] chose us in him [Jesus] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight’ (New International Version). This is one of the first important points that we need to remember that no child is a mistake. There is a purpose in their existence. God has knowledge of our existence before everyone else does even before our parents. God already knows who is going to be born. This shows us how God is not indifferent. For him, we are sacred and chosen people.

Every person is invited to God’s kingdom without exception. Through the gospels, we can see the importance of children. They are not excluded from God’s kingdom. In Matthew 19:13, we see people bringing their children to Jesus, so he can pray for them. The narrative says, ‘Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them, but the disciples rebuked them.’ Jesus’s disciples were trying to keep ‘distractors’ away since Jesus was busy teaching about divorce and the law. To the disciples, it was clear that Jesus was attending God’s business. It makes sense to not distract him. Sometimes, we can also find ourselves very ‘busy’ that we do not have time to spend with our children. However, Jesus response was completely unexpected. When we turn to Mark 10:13-16, we can see the big picture. In verse 14, we see Jesus being indignant to his disciples’ action. ‘When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.’ We can find the ultimate response of Jesus in verse 15. Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’ This is an amazing way of showing what really is important for Jesus and who is important in God’s kingdom.

The story does not end there. In contrast to Matthew, Mark makes sure to point out that Jesus blesses them, and that was the real reason of the children being brought by their parents. Jesus wants our children near to him. Verse 16 says, ‘And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.’ To be honest, he wants more than being close to them. He wants to bless the lives of our children, and he counts them as valuable that he makes sure to tell us that we need to be like children to inherit his kingdom. ‘Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it’ (Mark 10:15).

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Children are made in His image King David, who is described as a man after God’s own heart, recognises God as the creator of life.

Through Psalm 139:13-16, the author of the Psalms praises God because when ‘he was in his mother’s womb, he was not unknown to God.’ Psalm 13 says, ‘For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.’ How awesome it is that we are God’s creation. Humans are intentionally created. In verse 14, David says; ‘I am fearfully and wonderfully made.’ Indeed, we are created in an indescribable way. In Step 2 we saw how during the prenatal stage, the formation of the brain starts with the neural plate cells that fold to form a tube that later on will become the brain. My dear friends; this is how much work God put into us. We are his intended creation. We are not a secret for God. Our children were not hidden from God even if they were hidden from our eyes. They are a creation of God. David said that God’s eyes saw his ‘unformed body.’ In verse 15, David says, ‘My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of earth.’ Isn’t this amazing? God takes around nine months to create our children. He takes time forming every piece of our children’s bodies. God is not indifferent, and he is there when a new life is forming, ‘in utero.’ Something that is not well known to human beings is not a secret to God. David’s words are an incredible way of describing the presence of God. Our God is the source of life. It also reminds us how important children are for God. If God cares about our children, how much more should we care about them?

We are God’s masterpiece, a work of his hands. In the extent that, we are his creation made into his image. Genesis 1:26 emphasises the words of God, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.’ If we are God’s creation and our children are his creation, then we need to be responsible with God’s creation, our children. We need to care about the wellbeing of our children. In the early years of life, our children depend on us to have a healthy development and to be successful in life.

Their future is our present because whatever we do now for them such as nurturing them will affect their development as a child.

Children are a gift from God Solomon reminds us in his Psalms that children are a gift from God. ‘Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.’ (Psalm 127: 3-5). Solomon emphasises that children are provided by God. They are a blessing, and we inherit them from God. This is another good reason to be good parents and take care of our children because they are a reward from the Lord.

Our fourth component for healthy development is spiritual growth. Solomon reminds us of that at the beginning of this bible passage. Verse 1 says, ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain.’ Our houses are the first place where our children are safe and protected, and our ‘labour’ which is taking care of leading our children to have a full and healthy development can only be accomplished if we include God. In that way, we are not going to work in vain, and our children are going to be like arrows, ready to face life.

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God has a purpose for our children God chooses to dwell in us if we accept him. If our children are rooted in God, they also find their personal identity in God as his children. Moreover, the plan that God has for our children will be accomplished if they allow him to be the centre of their lives. Through the bible we can find some examples of successful children who trusted God. King Josiah was chosen by God to be king of Judah. He was only eight years old when he became king, and he ruled over Jerusalem for 31 years. 2 Chronicles 34:2, ‘He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely, the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.’ He is the last godly king who at the age of 16 seriously sought God and who was responsible of renewing the covenant of the Lord with Israel (Richards 281).

In the same way, we can remember Samuel, he was a gift from the Lord. His mother left him in the temple to be consecrated to God. When he was a boy, he ministered before the Lord (1 Samuel 18). While Samuel was in the house of the Lord, he was ‘growing in stature and in favour with the Lord and with people’ (1 Samuel 18:26). If our children are in God’s house they will be fed by God’s word and by the congregation. Since Samuel was in the house of the Lord. He was first called by God, and then he was chosen as a prophet, and he was Israel’s leader all the days of his life (1 Samuel 7:15).

During Jesus time, another child was also appointed by him to be the channel of a huge miracle.

In John 6:5-11, we find that Jesus used two small fish and five small barley loaves that a boy had with him. John 6:9, ‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’ This is a fair question! Even though Jesus’s disciples were walking with him, they did not understand what Jesus was trying to tell them when Jesus said you have to be like children to come into my kingdom. The first thing is that we need to be ready to respond to God’s calling. The second thing is that our children are also called by God to bless us. In this case, a child was not expected to be a blessing for others. Jesus used the food brought by him to teach us many things. One of the things is that the parents of this child were taking care of their child.

They were aware of their child’s physical necessities such as getting fed while he was following Jesus. Also, we can learn that we cannot neglect our children especially during the first years of their lives because this is the time in where they are developing. This bible verse teaches us that as parents we need to be always aware of the needs of our children, and at the same time it shows us that children are not useless in our churches. We are not the only one who are teaching them or pouring into their lives instead they are also pouring into our lives, and if we allow Jesus to use them, they can be a part of wonderful miracles. Thus, consecrating our children to him and consecrating our lives to them is an important role that parents, and churches have. If we consecrate our children to our Lord, he will use them to bless our churches.

This Bible passage also teaches us that Jesus cares about our physical needs. He was not only focused on teaching but showing with examples and with love. For our children to have a healthy development, their physical, emotional, environmental, and social needs must be satisfied. We need to make sure that we are taking care of children’s nutrition, safety, and learning process. In 19

this way, the three basic components for a healthy development can be achieved. If God is the centre of the lives of our children, also their spiritual life can be fulfilled. In verse 26, Jesus linked his previous miracle with his purpose of performing it. John 6:26-27, ‘Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.’ This is amazing! Jesus wants to fulfil our lives especially our children’s lives, and I believe that this is the reason why Jesus worked through this child. To show us that he does not make any exception, he desires us. He wants to give the bread of life to our children.

Moreover, he desires to dwell in the lives of our children, so his will, will be exposed in their lives.

He does not only want to give salvation and life to adults. He delights in our children because of their soft hearts to obey and follow him.

Jesus as a boy In Luke 2:41-52, we can see the boy Jesus in the temple and how he was spending time in his father’s house. If we stop to consider and see Jesus as a successful adult who was able to endure the hardships of life. Then, we can see that he was always involved in learning about God. In verse 46, we see a twelve years old Jesus sitting in the temple courts surrounded by teachers. His interest in learning was not limited to his family circle. He had a whole community supporting him. At the temple, he was listening and asking questions. This bring us back again to the idea of children growing in a safe environment surrounded with the body of believers. When we surround our children with love, we can help them grow healthily. To Jesus, the house of his father was the special place where he could meditate on God’s word, allowing him to grow in wisdom, stature, and in favour with God and man (Luke 2:52). We can see this strong emphasis in verse 49; ‘Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house.’

Jesus cares about the vulnerable In Matthew 18:1-9, Jesus taught his disciples that God’s Kingdom is not about strength or the status position that a person has. To Jesus, the greatest people were the people who had the lowest position such as child. He also said that whoever welcomes one such child in his name welcomes him (Matthew 18:4-5). The heart of Jesus is not alienated from children. In Matthew 18:6, Jesus warns us to not damage them. ‘If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.’

In addition, in the Gospel of Luke, we can see the tender heart that Jesus and God have towards the vulnerable people. Luke 4:18-19 says, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’

Jesus is not heartless to the vulnerable instead he states in verse 21 that in that moment and through him the fulfilment of scriptures has been accomplished. If Jesus, who is God himself has a heart towards the most vulnerable, we cannot be merciless at all. It is the time for us to embrace

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Jesus’s calling and statement. Salvation for the world has been accomplished, and right now, it is the precise time for us to embrace the vulnerable.

What does the bible say about the vulnerable?

Micah 6:8 reminds us of what the Lord requires of us. The bible verse says, ‘He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’ In our daily walk, we need to remember people who are vulnerable to the injustices of the world. People who cannot stand by themselves because something is blocking them of accessing God’s grace. We can be the vehicle to show them mercy.

Our children are vulnerable because they completely rely on adults for their basic needs. They need us during their first years of life to survive. Children are not independent or able to make decisions on what to eat or how to eat. They need us because they are so fragile. If children who have parents depend deeply on their parents, imagine how much longing and necessities orphan children might have. They do not only need food they need to be loved and to be heard. They want to feel valuable. At the same time, they have the right of growing in a space that protect them from any type of adversities. As a church, God calls us to take care of them with love and compassion.

Children are the creation of his hand, and he desires to spend time with them through us. It is our responsibility as a Church to be caregivers of these children.

We can also find advice in the book of Proverbs on how to take care of vulnerable children.

Especially for children who live in poverty as it acts as a barrier that restraints the healthy growing of our children. Proverbs 14:31 says, ‘Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honours God.’ Another advice comes from Proverbs 22:22-23, ‘Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the Lord will take up their case and will exact life for life.’ Proverbs 31:8-9, encourages to speak up for others. ‘Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.

Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.’ Our children cannot speak for themselves. This is not because they do not want but because often society does not recognise their voice. Also, think about single mother or mothers who are very young. These women are very vulnerable because sometimes they cannot even take care of themselves. For them it could be even more complicated to take care of a child. Sometimes, these people need us not as a source of food or physical needs but as a source of compassion and love.

Jeremiah also tells us to not oppress the vulnerable. ‘This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place’ (Jeremiah 22:3). We should not be heartless to the vulnerable especially our children because they need us. We have been sent by the Lord to the world, and we are his means by which his will can be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven. Remember that Jesus invites children to be part of his kingdom, and he tells us to have the heart of a child if we want to be part of his kingdom. Now, if we are intentionally part of the life of children, they can grow in a safe environment. Our churches can be that safe ground where they can grow without obstacles. If we are working with children 21

who live on the streets, we as a church can be their family who can celebrate when they achieved little things in life. They need us to speak on their behalf and to give them the space that our societies sometimes take away because they are seen as not being able to make decisions by themselves.

What does The Salvation Army say about Children?

In 2013, The Salvation Army developed an International Development Policy regarding Child Development. The policy states the point of view of The Salvation Army about this topic.

‘Children are a gift from God. The Salvation Army seeks to enable the development of children into compassionate people of integrity and character with relevant skills, knowledge and understanding to achieve their full God given potential. Children should have the opportunity to develop physically, cognitively, emotionally, social, intellectually and spiritually. These development aspects should be promoted holistically and take into account the child’s family, cultural context, gender, personality, talents and abilities.

The Salvation Army is committed to safeguarding all children under its care. We will work according to the highest international standards to create a safe, positive and rights respecting environment. We recognise and embrace our responsibility of care and advocacy seriously and will follow the best practice when working with children’ (International Development Policy on Child Development).

This is what The Salvation Army thinks about the topic. However, this policy is meaningless if we as the church and body of Christ do not care about children. This is not only a policy, but it is a call for a deeper and intentional relation between us and our children. First as parents, we need to take care of own children, but second, we as a community of believers should not see this as a theory but as a life living experience that can transform the lives of children regardless of their background, economic statues, or behaviour. This policy has no point if we do not act. Individually and as a Church, we must think about every single child who comes to our programs as if they were our own children. Remember again no child is a mistake neither their circumstance should be set before their necessities. In the Salvation Army, we have the opportunity of transforming our communities because people already trust us. Let’s think on ways of transforming the life of children in our communities and the life of their parents. We can empower our children because they are not the least in our societies. They are the beginning of our communities.

Step 4 Decide and Plan The purpose of this document is not to tell you to take care of your children during the first thousand days because Science and the UN are telling us to do it; instead, it is because God trusted us with his creation, our children are made in his image. They are vulnerable, valuable and a gift from God. In addition to that, God has a purpose for their life just as he has a purpose for our lives. As Christians and as part of the body of Christ, let us be a Church that invests our time with 22

our children, while they are developing, without regarding them as less valuable. They need our attention. Instead, let us keep Jesus’s words in our mind. ‘See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my father in heaven’ (Matthew 18:10).

One of the fantastic things about the Bible is that it is powerful and gives instruction for our life and the life of our children. The apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work’ (New King James Version). Neither God nor Jesus have left us alone. They were always thinking of us, and they also gave us instructions through the Bible for a good and healthy parenting relationship with our children.

So, what can we do?

Instructing our children in God’s way King Solomon was known for being one of wisest Kings and in one of his Proverbs, he advises us to ‘Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it’ (New International Version, Proverbs 22:6). We need to remember that we are stewards of God. Our children are his inheritance, and whatever we plant in our children’s hearts will be forever in there. Our teachings will be there to help them with their spiritual growth and when they are taking decisions for their lives. We need to be responsible with our children. In Ephesians 4:1-2, Paul calls us to ‘live a life worthy of the calling we have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.’ First as parents and after that as members of our church, we have been called to love and instruct our children in God’s way. In that way, our children would be ready to growth, mature, and attain the measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).

Another teaching from the miracle of five loaves of barley bread and two fish is the use of power.

In the other Gospels, the death of John the Baptist is described before the feeding of the five thousand. In Matthew 14:6-12, Matthew describes how the power of a king and child was used to destroy the life of another person. Here, we can see a mother who did not instruct her child in the way of the Lord but rather taught her to be deceitful and to take advantage of people. By the mother’s petition and through her daughter, John the Baptist was beheaded. The contrast is big enough to make us think about teaching our children in God’s way. A little boy used his power to bless others. We cannot diminish the power of the Holy Spirit and the work that it can do in the life of our children. This is a power given by God when our children invite Jesus into their lives.

Romans 8:11 says, ‘But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you’ (New Kings James Version). Imagine how the life of our children can be transformed if we instruct them in God’s way. They can be a channel of blessing to others without doubt.

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Practicing good parenting Jesus came as a baby and as a baby he was very vulnerable. God really trusts us. He trusted Mary to be the mother of Jesus. God knows that we can take care of our children if he did not think like that, he would not have sent Jesus as baby and entrusted him to human parents. In contrary, God could have sent Jesus as an adult to fulfil his mission. However, that was not God’s plan at all. God sent his only son trusting that we could accomplish a good parenting role. We can see in Luke 2:22 that ‘Joseph and Mary took him [Jesus] to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord’ (New International Version). There are two things that I want to highlight. The first one is the response of Jesus’ parents. They did follow the teaching of the Law. They were responsible parents who took Jesus to the temple when he was eight days old to present him to the Lord as it was required by the law (Richards 646). According to the law, every firstborn son was to be presented and consecrated which means dedicate to God and his service (Luke 2:23). After that, the son was purchased back with a blood sacrifice (Richards 646).

It is not the law that makes us good parents instead it is desiring the wellbeing of our children that creates the bond and access to good parenting role. The second thing that I want to highlight is the result of the dedication of Jesus’s parents. Luke 2:40 says, ‘the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.’ These references are good examples of practicing good parenting. Even though Jesus was God, he needed a strong family protection to grow while he was a child. As a baby, Jesus experienced the process of being a child. A child who completely had to rely in their family as the only physical source to keep him healthy and nurtured to be able to experience physical grow and fulfil his mission on the Earth.

What can we do as a corps community?

Be a welcoming family We cannot be conformed only with the idea of filling our churches with children instead I want to challenge you to create a home environment where families can come when they need to find refuge and rest from their daily routines. Think about them as part of your family. Maybe our churches can be the only place where a single mother can be seen and heard. Think about my friends, a young family who could not find rest. If we can help young people like them to find a place where their daily problems can be heard, that would make a huge impact in their lives. Many young parents do not know how to interact with their children, or they do not know how to prepare a healthy diet for their children. For them talking about those details with experience mothers and fathers and with people who are professional can help them with being better parents.

Often during the dedication of a child, the whole congregation is pledged to support the parents (Salvation Army Ceremonies 11). If a church like that can exist in my community, my friends and neighbours would have a new opportunity in their life. If they can come to a local church where they are not only seen as irresponsible teenagers but be loved and taught how to increase their parenting skills, then they can create a better life for their children. The Salvation Army has an important opportunity to invest in the life of our community. We can be a support for families with 24

babies. It is not only the responsibilities of our Corps Officers, but it is our responsibility as members of God’s family.

Focus on helping young parents I also want to challenge you to take time to talk about good parenting in your church. Talk about the importance of spending time during the 3 first years of a child’s life when the brain is forming and developing its full potential. As an officer, Sunday school teacher, or soldier, you can share with parents how to create good parenting strategies. Mothers and fathers play an essential role in constructing love for their children. Remember that the development process of our children is holistic. They need to have a good nutrition, be safe, learn, and have a spiritual growth to develop to their full and God given potential.

Also, share time with young fathers. They are part of this process of constructing a safe environment for their children. Most often in South America, mothers are in charge of the children because fathers are working. Well, let’s tell them that they play a bigger role than just being the financial support of the family. They can be role model for their children. They can spend the same amount of time that mothers spend with their children. We can tell them that there is nothing wrong with being a caring and responsible dad who plays with his child.

Provide access to resources Teenagers sometimes do not have money to take their little children to regular medical appointments to see if the child is growing according to its age. Corps have the opportunity to partner with medical facilities and clinics to facilitate health events focused on young children.

Invite a nutritionist and ask them to talk with the parents, so they can explain to parents the importance of a healthy diet and emphasise that a big meal is not necessary a healthy diet, but it is about having the right nutrients necessary for the development of the child. For many people in rural areas, vegetables are not a common part of their diet.

It is also important to make sure children have access to the necessary vaccinations. Planning these events are not that time consuming because the medical system in Peru, creates home campaigns for vaccinating young children. It is vital mothers understand the importance of these vaccinations that are helpful to create a strong immune system for a child. Maybe you can host a medical family campaign where not only the child is taken care of, but parents can also find a way of being healthy.

It is important to educate the church and community. We can spend our time teaching our teenagers why is important to be healthy or why is not a good decision to become mother while they are too young. Remember preventing is always best.

If you have a pantry, you can see this also as an opportunity of teaching them about good nutrition and you can create culinary classes where you can teach what food is necessary for children’s development. Explain the importance of nurturing our children now and not in the future. A great way of starting this interaction is asking questions such as why do people come to our pantries?

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Yes, it is helpful to assist them with food, but we can ask them what are their real necessities? I can say for my friends their necessities of being loved by their parents where huge. Let’s break the cycle of poverty together and let’s create in our churches a safe environment for parents and children.

Protect extremely vulnerable children Many children who are from the rural areas do not have the opportunity of attend pre kinder because it is too much expensive for their parents. Too often these children are being cared for by another person who might not have the time neither the patience to protect them and they might suffer violence without the knowledge of their parents. It is very important to advise the parents of the importance of being aware of their children and to whom they entrust them. Also, think about the immigrants and refugees. These children deserved to be loved and taken care of regardless of their societal condition. Our children need to be considered important regardless if they live in a rich neighbourhood or if they live in a refugee camp! Let’s prevent having children living on the streets because this is normal and so natural in South America as long as a child can walk that child can be cared by an older sibling, and they can be playing on the streets. This is not a safe place because accidents can happen especially if there is nobody watching them. We as a church can spend time with them and teach them while they are playing or spending time in our churches. Children have the necessity of being seen regardless of their age. They also need to feel important and valuable especially at this age since they need our guidance.

Step 5: Act You have read about early childhood development and know the importance of the subject. If we want to have successful children, then it is time for us to start thinking of our children as human beings created in the image of God without thinking less of them because they are young and do not have a direct and immediate contribution to our families. To be honest, they really contribute to our happiness because they bring joy to our lives. They should be our priority since they are a treasure that we inherited from God. Remember, your children are not a burden. Neither, taking care of them is the sole responsibility of mothers. Fathers and the church are important in modelling the life of children.

There are a lot of things that we can do at our churches to inspire parents. You can invite some health experts such as doctors and paediatricians who can advise parents on the topic of child developing. You can partner with some hospitals and clinics, so they can come to your congregation to help with check-outs. Also, create groups in your church to talk about new mothers and how to take care of their health during their pregnancy. Show new parents how to stimulate their children.

You can also link your pantry service with the health service. Show mothers and families that they can create a good diet for them and their children. You can also include cooking classes. Tell them what nutrients are necessary for children in their early stages of development. Moreover, you can also involve your community in creating spaces for dialogue where parents can discuss some of the difficulties that they are facing with their children. You can also use the Faith Based-Facilitation 26

(FBF) process to talk and discover any other issue relate to early childhood development. Now, it is time for you and your church, to act and to put some of the above ideas into practice.

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5. “Building Babies' Brains through Play: Mini Parenting Master Class.” UNICEF Parenting, UNICEF, https://www.unicef.org/parenting/child-development/building-babies-brains-through-playclass.

6. “CDC's Developmental Milestones.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 8 Feb. 2019, https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html.

7. Center on the Developing Child. InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development. 2007, https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/inbrief-science-of-ecd/.

8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Child Development Basics.” Child Development, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/facts.html. Accessed 10 March 2019.

9. “Children in Latin America and the Caribbean.” UNICEF Latin America and Caribbean, UNICEF, June 2019, https://www.unicef.org/lac/en/children-latin-america-and-caribbean.

10. Cusick, Sarah, and Michael Georgieff. “The Role of Nutrition in Brain Development: The Golden Opportunity of the First 1000 Days.” The Journal of Pediatrics vol. 175 (2016): 16-21. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.05.013 11. “Early Childhood Development.” UNICEF, UNICEF, https://unicef.org/early-childhooddevelopment.

12. “Early Childhood Development.” World Bank, The World Bank, https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/earlychildhooddevelopment.

13. Early Moments Matter for every child. UNICEF, Sept. 2017, https://www.unicef.org/media/files/UNICEF_Early_Moments_Matter_for_Every_Child_report. pdf. Accessed 15 August 2019.

14. “Early Years: Resources.” World Bank, The World Bank, https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/earlyyears.

15. “Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Peru.” U.S. Department of Labor, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/peru.

16. Gatti, Roberta, et al. The Human Capital. E-book. The World Bank Group, 2018.

17. Hom, D., et al. “Developmental Foundations of School Readiness for Infants and Toddlers: A Research to Practice Report.” OPRE Report# 2016-07, Feb. 2016, 28

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/opre/opre_nitr_school_readiness_report_v05cove r_title.pdf.

18. “Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age 3.” Illinois Early Learning Project, University of Illinois, https://illinoisearlylearning.org/ielg/.

19. Indrawati, Sri Mulyani. Stunting: The Face of Poverty. The World Bank, 3 June 2013, https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/stunting-face-poverty.

20. International Development Policy on Child Development. The Salvation Army International Headquarters.

21. “Investing in Education.” UNICEF Latin America and Caribbean, UNICEF, https://www.unicef.org/lac/en/investing-education-0.

22. Leaf, Caroline. Who Switched off my brain? Switch on your brain (Ltd.), 2007.

23. Learning to Realize Education’s Promise. The World Bank, 2018. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2018 24. “Overview.” The World Bank, https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview.

25. “Perceptual and Motor Development Domain.” Child Development, California Department of Education, https://www.cde.ca.gov/SP/CD/re/itf09percmotdev.asp.

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27. “Plasticity.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/plasticity.

28. Richards, Lawrence. The Teacher’s commentary. Victor Books, 1987.

29. Salvation Army Ceremonies. International Headquarters, 1989.

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31. The Bible. New International Version, Anglicised edition, Biblica, 2011.

32. The Bible. New King James Version, Thomas Nealson, 2011. BibleGateway.com, www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-King-James-NKJV-Bible/#booklist.

33. “The Healthy Growth Project.” Nutrition, WHO, https://www.who.int/nutrition/healthygrowthproj/en//index1.html.

34. The first 1,000 days of life: The brain’s window of opportunity. UNICEF, https://www.unicefirc.org/article/958-the-first-1000-days-of-life-the-brains-window-of-opportunity.html.

35. The Lancet. “Advancing early Childhood Development: from Science to Scale.” October 2016.

36. The Salvation Army. Building Deeper Relationships. The Salvation Army International Headquarters, 2010.

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40. “Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” United Nations, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld.

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42. Vegas, Emiliana, and Lucrecia Santibañez. The Promise of Early Childhood Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. E-book edition. The World Group, 2009.

43. WHA Global Nutrition Targets 2025: Stunting Policy Brief 1. WHO, https://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/globaltargets_stunting_policybrief.pdf

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Source: “The WHO Child Growth Standards.”

Appendix Milestones according to the age of a child (“CDC's Developmental Milestones”).

2 months: Social and Emotional • Begins to smile at people • Can briefly calm herself (may bring hands to mouth and suck on hand) • Tries to look at parent Language/Communication • Coos, makes gurgling sounds • Turns head toward sounds Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving) • Pays attention to faces • Begins to follow things with eyes and recognise people at a distance • Begins to act bored (cries, fussy) if activity doesn’t change Movement/Physical Development • Can hold head up and begins to push up when lying on tummy • Makes smoother movements with arms and legs 4 months: Social and Emotional • Smiles spontaneously, especially at people 31

• Likes to play with people and might cry when playing stops • Copies some movements and facial expressions, like smiling or frowning Language/Communication • Begins to babble • Babbles with expression and copies sounds he hears • Cries in different ways to show hunger, pain, or being tired Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving) • Lets you know if he is happy or sad • Responds to affection • Reaches for toy with one hand • Uses hands and eyes together, such as seeing a toy and reaching for it • Follows moving things with eyes from side to side • Watches faces closely • Recognises familiar people and things at a distance Movement/Physical Development • Holds head steady, unsupported • Pushes down on legs when feet are on a hard surface • May be able to roll over from tummy to back • Can hold a toy and shake it and swing at dangling toys • Brings hands to mouth • When lying on stomach, pushes up to elbows 6 months: Social and Emotional • Knows familiar faces and begins to know if someone is a stranger • Likes to play with others, especially parents • Responds to other people’s emotions and often seems happy • Likes to look at self in a mirror Language/Communication • Responds to sounds by making sounds • Strings vowels together when babbling (“ah,” “eh,” “oh”) and likes taking turns with parent while making sounds • Responds to own name • Makes sounds to show joy and displeasure • Begins to say consonant sounds (jabbering with “m,” “b”) Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving) • Looks around at things nearby • Brings things to mouth • Shows curiosity about things and tries to get things that are out of reach • Begins to pass things from one hand to the other Movement/Physical Development • Rolls over in both directions (front to back, back to front) 32

• • •

Begins to sit without support When standing, supports weight on legs and might bounce Rocks back and forth, sometimes crawling backward before moving forward

9 months: Social and Emotional • May be afraid of strangers • May be clingy with familiar adults • Has favorite toys Language/Communication • Understands “no” Video_04 • Makes a lot of different sounds like “mamamama” and “bababababa” • Copies sounds and gestures of others • Uses fingers to point at things Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving) • Watches the path of something as it falls • Looks for things she sees you hide • Plays peek-a-boo • Puts things in his mouth • Moves things smoothly from one hand to the other • Picks up things like cereal o’s between thumb and index finger Movement/Physical Development • Stands, holding on • Can get into sitting position • Sits without support • Pulls to stand • Crawls 1 year: Social and Emotional • Is shy or nervous with strangers • Cries when mom or dad leaves • Has favorite things and people • Shows fear in some situations • Hands you a book when he wants to hear a story • Repeats sounds or actions to get attention • Puts out arm or leg to help with dressing • Plays games such as “peek-a-boo” and “pat-a-cake” Language/Communication • Responds to simple spoken requests • Uses simple gestures, like shaking head “no” or waving “bye-bye” • Makes sounds with changes in tone (sounds more like speech) 33

• Says “mama” and “dada” and exclamations like “uh-oh!”

• Tries to say words you say Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving) • Explores things in different ways, like shaking, banging, throwing • Finds hidden things easily • Looks at the right picture or thing when it’s named • Copies gestures • Starts to use things correctly; for example, drinks from a cup, brushes hair • Bangs two things together • Puts things in a container, takes things out of a container • Lets things go without help • Pokes with index (pointer) finger • Follows simple directions like “pick up the toy” Movement/Physical Development • Gets to a sitting position without help • Pulls up to stand, walks holding on to furniture (“cruising”) • May take a few steps without holding on • May stand alone 18 months: Social and Emotional • Likes to hand things to others as play • May have temper tantrums • May be afraid of strangers • Shows affection to familiar people • Plays simple pretend, such as feeding a doll • May cling to caregivers in new situations • Points to show others something interesting • Explores alone but with parent close by Language/Communication • Says several single words • Says and shakes head “no” • Points to show someone what he wants Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving) • Knows what ordinary things are for; for example, telephone, brush, spoon • Points to get the attention of others • Shows interest in a doll or stuffed animal by pretending to feed • Points to one body part • Scribbles on his own • Can follow 1-step verbal commands without any gestures; for example, sits when you say “sit down” 34

Movement/Physical Development • Walks alone • May walk up steps and run • Pulls toys while walking • Can help undress herself • Drinks from a cup • Eats with a spoon 2 years: Social and Emotional • Copies others, especially adults and older children • Gets excited when with other children • Shows more and more independence • Shows defiant behavior (doing what he has been told not to) • Plays mainly beside other children, but is beginning to include other children, such as in chase games Language/Communication • Points to things or pictures when they are named • Knows names of familiar people and body parts • Says sentences with 2 to 4 words • Follows simple instructions • Repeats words overheard in conversation • Points to things in a book Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving) • Finds things even when hidden under two or three covers • Begins to sort shapes and colors • Completes sentences and rhymes in familiar books • Plays simple make-believe games • Builds towers of 4 or more blocks • Might use one hand more than the other • Follows two-step instructions such as “Pick up your shoes and put them in the closet.”

• Names items in a picture book such as a cat, bird, or dog Movement/Physical Development • Stands on tiptoe • Kicks a ball • Begins to run • Climbs onto and down from furniture without help • Walks up and down stairs holding on • Throws ball overhand • Makes or copies straight lines and circles

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