The International Montessori School of Tokyo, Japan suggest Parents Focus on the First Five Years of a Child’s Life

There is various research that points out the importance of the first five years of childhood. In the first 5 years, the brain is at its most plastic which means the different areas of the brain are exercised in those crucial years. The child is more adaptive to different types of learning, grasping all the information easily.

 

Dr. Joann Deak, PhD and author of four books on child development conveys the key message of the research on early childhood brain development; 

 

The key message is that “Children’s brains need to be stretched in all areas to maximise their potential and learning capacity.”

 

The First 5 Years of Child’s Development in International Montessori Schools in , Tokyo, Japan

 

Environment

A child’s brain develops faster in the first 5 years compared to any other time in his life. And in those years children learn mainly through play.

 

Child Development happens in all the areas which are linked to each other such as physical growth, social, emotional, behaviour, thinking and communication skills, etc. 

 

Your child’s early experiences lay the foundations for the future. So it becomes extremely important to provide a stimulating environment like The Montessori School of Tokyo where they are nurtured, develop good habits, value relationships and elders, and gain experience through the 5 senses such as seeing, hearing, touching, and smelling and tasting through lots of different activities. All these experiences stimulate the brain, creating millions of connections.

 

Nurture your child by understanding their needs. Speak to them frequently, expose them to graphic illustration books, stories, music, audio poems, etc., to help strengthen children’s language and communication.

 

Relationships

Children’s most important relationship is with their parents and their family members, caregivers, teachers, friends etc.

 

A loving, nurturing relationship helps them to continue the same relationship in future with others. If the relationships are not good it will affect all areas and stages of their development.

 

Relationships they see in their environment shape the way they see the world. So it is essential to provide care and love. Being a parent, be their role model showcasing to them how to behave with others, respect elders, etc. 

 

A good valuable relationship is a basis for the development of your child’s communication, behaviour, social and other skills.

 

Play

Children mainly learn and develop through play in the early years. Play in International Schools in Japan is a fun way to provide children with opportunities to explore, experiment, solve problems and learn from their mistakes. 

 

You need to provide support and encouragement but make sure to let them try things and learn on their own, which is essential to enhance their independent learning skills. 

 

Children learn a lot of skills through play such as communicating, creative thinking, solving problems, etc., and all these are learnt during interactions, talking, listening, observing and helping others.

 

Other things that shape child development

 

Other factors that affect a child’s development are eating habits, physical activity, health and the neighbourhood they live in.

 

Healthy food provides energy and nutrients which help children grow and develop. Following healthy eating habits in the family and instilling the same in the early years will set up healthy eating habits for life.

 

Being physically active helps your child to develop motor skills. The Montessori School of Tokyo provides children with plenty of opportunities for active play, both inside and outside. Also, it is recommended parents should try to be active by carrying out physical activities, exercise, etc. Seeing you active, your child will likely follow your lead.

 

It is necessary that parents should focus more on physical activity. Reading and creative thinking during play in order to stimulate. Their brains and not to provide them with more technology stuff like mobile phones, video games, etc.

 

For eg:- If you provide opportunities to interact with people by taking them to playgrounds parks, etc. They will learn to communicate and learn social skills which are otherwise not possible. If they are busy with tablets or smartphones playing games or watching videos.

 

Conclusion

The first five years are the most important of a child’s life. As the foundations are set in those years for the person they are going to be. In those crucial years, they learn good behaviour, empathy and many other important social skills. That they will carry throughout their life.

 

The experiences International Schools in Japan will provide in those first five years will help them to develop social skills, cognitive skills, and thinking skills and will improve their personality, decision-making ability, concentration power and more.