Building a brighter future
Early childhood is a critical period in human development. Nurturing Care in the early years provides children with a strong foundation for future learning, joyful relationships and success.
It also helps mitigate social problems and crime, and creates a more creative, cohesive, peaceful and productive society.
Significance of the early years
Early childhood development refers to the physical, cognitive, social, aesthetic, creative and emotional growth and learning that occurs in children from birth through around age eight.
Research suggests that the first six to eight years of life, known as the early childhood stage, are extremely critical for life-long development, since the pace of development in these years is extremely rapid. Critical periods for development of numerous cognitive, social and psychomotor competencies are situated in these early years of life.
Therefore it is crucial that this period be rooted in a safe and enriching physical and psycho-social environment, ensuring the chances of the child developing to their full potential.
Nurturing Care
Nurturing care means that children experience good health, adequate nutrition, a sense of physical and emotional safety, responsive caregiving and ample opportunities for exploration and learning. (Ref: WHO, UNICEF, World Bank Group. Nurturing care for early childhood development: a framework for helping children survive and thrive to transform health and human potential, 2018). There is global agreement that Nurturing Care is critical for early childhood development.
FCL’s work on strengthening public systems
FCL works with government functionaries, caregivers and educators to deepen a sense of, and commitment to, nurturing care environments as well as the necessary skills to ensure that they are in a position to provide them.
