Opportunities for Early Learning
To reach their full potential, children need the five inter-related and indivisible components of nurturing care: good health, adequate nutrition, safety and security, responsive caregiving and opportunities for learning. In the first years of life, parents, intimate family members, and caregivers are the closest to the young child and, thus, the best providers of nurturing care. This is why secure family environments are important for young children. In order to provide caregivers with time and resources to provide nurturing care, policies, services and community supports need to be in place. This section focuses on the "Opportunities for Early Learning" component of the Nurturing Care Framework.
Definition
Refers to any opportunity for the baby, toddler, or child to interact with a person, place, or object in their environment. Recognizes that every interaction (positive or negative, or absence of an interaction) is contributing to the child’s brain development and laying the foundation for later learning. Learning begins at conception, and as soon as babies are born, they begin to acquire skills socially, through their interactions with other people – smiling and eye contact, talking and singing, modelling and imitation, and simple games like “wave bye-bye”. To support early learning, young children need caregivers to use their daily routines to talk to, play, and interact with the child; tell stories and explore books; engage in activities that encourage young children to move their bodies, activate their five senses, hear and use language, and explore. Early learning opportunities that support children’s knowledge, curiosity, knowledge, imagination and creativity, includes a wide range of experiences such as playing with everyday objects like cups and pots, having a conversation about what they would like to do the next day, or reading a book, naming things and talking about them.