Investing in early childhood: building strong foundations for future generations and a nation

By Deepika Mogilishetty

In the narrative of human development, few investments hold as much promise and potential as those made in the early years of a child’s life, the magic, wonder and potential of it is immeasurable. In the context of our country, this becomes even more so, given 25 million new lives bring hope and joy to families every year. That is akin to a festival being celebrated, 25 million times every year, nationally. Let that sink in.

What next? At least for the adults around the child the fanfare and joy is replaced by the daily chores and struggles of bringing up a child, basically the business of living. Let’s examine the opportunity and abundance of the early childhood phase, which is between birth and 8 years of age. Why should it get significant attention? For one, and because adults like facts and figures 85% of a child’s brain develops by age six. According to studies, a child’s brain up to eight years of age fires over a million neurons to form connections every second. The sheer magnitude of learning a child can absorb during this time is nearly incomprehensible for adults. The brain’s plasticity, or ability to adapt and change in response to experiences, is especially pronounced during this period, making it an optimal time for ensuring the best experience of learning and growth for every child to acquire the skills for later life and to unlock their unique potential.

Nowhere other than the National Education Policy, 2020 is this advocated stronger, when it states – Over 85% of a child’s cumulative brain development occurs prior to the age of 6… Universal provisioning of quality early childhood development, care, and education must thus be achieved as soon as possible, and no later than 2030. The policy and National Curriculum Framework – Foundational Stage goes on to advocate the importance and necessary approach of recognising play as the way children learn.

What does this mean for us as caring adults in our various roles in society? What does this mean for us as a country? Let’s start with developing some basic understanding of how children learn and grow.

During one of my interactions with parents, policymakers, educators, and experts, as part of the Bachpan Manao Badhte Jao (Celebrate Childhood, Keep Growing) mission, we engaged with several questions, insights and mindsets which reflect in some measure how we approach childhood as a society, for example a parent asked an expert the question – “How is it fair to advocate play (khelna) to our children (meaning rural children) while they should be studying (padhna)–referring to reading and writing”

To the question of “when you think of children and childhood what comes to mind?”, the answers range from “freedom and joy” to a very specific metaphor of “children are like clay to be moulded in the manner we want them to grow”.

These insights should give us pause. If we have to make the most of the early childhood opportunity as a society and a country, what should change in the way we see children and childhood and what do we need to do? That we care and do our best is a given, every family and household tries the best it can, evidenced by the fact that over 99% of our children start school at grade 1. Just saying because, again, adults like figures.

These conversations and reflections highlight one among many ‘ideas’ and “mindsets” we must tackle – understanding and clearing up possible (mis) conceptions we have on how the child’s mind and body works and the importance of the simple and natural act of play.

What I share hereon are some of the ways, supported by science and reflected in our own national education policy and national curriculum framework, in which we can change how we approach early childhood and how the lens through which we look at early childhood should evolve.

Children are not just clay to be moulded, but also seeds to be nurtured. This is a critical metaphor for the lens with which we view our children; everything else we do as individuals and society flows from this shift in metaphor. We may continue to structure, but we must also provide the soil and the climate, the ecosystem and the environment, to flower.

Investing in children actually means investing in caring adults around the child. The parents, the anganwadi workers, the educators in preschool and more need to be enabled to look at early childhood through the lens, the metaphor, I mentioned above.

For parents, an I can and I do attitude goes a long way – investment is not so much new toys and things as much as conversations and simple play. The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University speaks to this at great length. Equipping parents to recognise their own abundance and this, fortified with ideas for responsive parenting mentioned in the national curriculum, can go a long way in parents finding their way. Baatein (Conversation), Sneh (Care and love) aur Khel (Play) coined by an organisation working on responsive parenting practices captures the essence of the investment needed.

Celebrating ambassadors of early childhood growth. Anganwadi workers and preschool educators are ambassadors for early childhood in our communities; seeing them as advocates and emissaries of our children and empowering them to succeed in creating a joyful experience for every child, is the investment we have to make in their personal growth. As on December 31, 2023, India had 23,71,203 Anganwadi workers and Anganwadi helpers. We don’t know the exact number of pre-school educators across the samaj and bazar ecosystem though; they will probably run into a few hundreds of thousands. They all need the right input, training and perhaps timely help from reliable sources and even peers; the role of technology in enabling this support cannot be underestimated. This could be in the form of a friendly co-pilot leveraging AI or accessible via IVRS which can answer questions and provide access to resources in their own language.

Igniting latent capacity from unlikely places – librarians are powerful allies; Libraries are a safe space for children where their imaginations can fly. Gram panchayats and municipalities investing and supporting community libraries as spaces for young children and teaching librarians to be storytellers will create a supporting environment in the community. The Librarians of India are a growing community of joy givers to children across the country.

Creating and expanding inclusive spaces for children – Playgrounds should be designed as inclusive and accessible places for children of all ages. Caring for public spaces and making them safe for children has an intergenerational impact and this cannot be emphasised enough. There is no better recipe for growth than playing out in the open and exploring with friends. We all know this and this does not need to be explained. Investing in inclusive public spaces for children of all ages and especially early years is a critical need for every community.

But how does this impact the country or society at large?

One of the most compelling arguments for investing in early childhood lies in its potential to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and inequality. By providing all children, no matter their social or economic status, with access to quality early childhood programs and services, we can mitigate the effects of poverty, promote social mobility, and foster greater equity in opportunity. Early interventions such as early childhood education, nutrition support, healthcare, and parenting programs have been shown to level the playing field, giving every child a fair chance to succeed regardless of their socioeconomic circumstances.

Investing in early childhood: building strong foundations for future generations and a nation

According to studies, a child's brain up to eight years of age fires over a million neurons to form connections every second.