What is Early Childhood Education: The Foundation for Your Child’s Future

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Why wait if the time is now?

The most valuable years for your child’s education start much earlier than most people think. Many families believe that schooling begins between ages 4 and 6, but the truth is that the first years of life — even from the womb — are the most important for their development.

During this time, the foundation is formed for everything that comes later: how your child learns, thinks, socializes, regulates emotions, and faces the world. Delaying preschool enrollment until age 4 is no longer just a matter of convenience; it is a risk. Not starting before age 3 can limit key opportunities during a stage that does not come again. In this blog, we explain why acting early can make a deep and lasting difference in your child’s life.

What does early childhood education include?

Early childhood education (ECE) covers the period from birth to six years old and is backed by decades of research in neuroscience, psychology, and education. It’s not just about preparing for “formal school,” as is often thought, but a critical time when the most important life skills are developed. During these years, children build language skills, emotional self-regulation, motor abilities, empathy, problem-solving, and many other essential functions. As noted by UNESCO (2021), experiences lived during early childhood directly impact brain architecture and lay the groundwork for learning, behavior, and future development.

What happens in the brain during this stage?

From the moment the baby is in the womb, their brain starts developing at a rapid pace. In the first years of life, millions of connections form that help the child learn, communicate, move, express emotions, and adapt to the world. In fact, by the age of 6, nearly 90% of the brain is already developed, according to experts at Harvard University (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000; Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, 2011). The rest develops gradually until around age 25 — young adulthood.

Everything your child experiences during this stage — play, hugs, songs, the words they hear, the love they receive — directly shapes how their brain is formed. This idea is not new: for decades, experts like Piaget, Vygotsky, and Gesell highlighted the importance of the environment where children grow up. Today, science confirms with greater strength than ever that early childhood experiences leave a deep and lasting mark.

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Home and educational environments: a key partnership

Home always plays a fundamental role in children’s development. Parents and family members are the first educators, and their gestures of love, care, and communication cannot be replaced. However, family situations vary: some children spend most of their time at home, while others spend many hours with professionals or other adults. In either case, it is important that these environments are prepared to support child development.

Once the child can walk confidently — usually between 12 and 18 months — they can benefit from short, professionally guided group experiences. Before this age, early stimulation should happen in safe spaces, always accompanied by a responsible adult, in environments that meet their sensory, social, and emotional needs.

The professional value of early childhood education and family support

Each family is unique and circumstances differ. Therefore, it is essential to understand that preschools offer activities planned according to each child’s age and needs, based on tested curricula grounded in scientific knowledge and practical experience. Many centers have trained professionals who, besides implementing these studied curricula, also support families by providing reliable guidance and tools to aid child development. 

This support is essential because, even when there is love and commitment at home, specialized knowledge to stimulate children properly is not always available. Without meaning to, children can be under-stimulated, over-stimulated, pushed to premature learning, or encouraged to depend too much on adults, which limits autonomy. Collaboration between families and professionals helps children grow up safe and confident, respecting their own rhythms and potential. This joint work, done with respect, empathy, and appreciation of family diversity, strengthens the home-education bond and enriches parenting practices, recognizing that every adult involved plays a fundamental role in early childhood education.

An investment that lasts a lifetime

Longitudinal studies, such as those by Heckman et al. (2006), have shown that investing in early childhood education produces the greatest social, emotional, and economic benefits over the long term. The earlier you act, the greater the impact. It’s not about rushing academic learning, but about accompanying every small but important step in your child’s development with respect, professionalism, and knowledge.

In summary

Early childhood education is not optional: it is the foundation for every child’s future. It is a shared responsibility: at home, with affection and bonds; in educational settings, with experience and applied science. When both come together with respect, coherence, and purpose, the results are extraordinary.

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Join our family to give your child the best foundation for the best future — schedule a guided visit to ABCnMe.

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References

• Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2011). Brain architecture. Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/brain-architecture/

• Gesell, A. (1940). The first five years of life: A guide to the study of the preschool child. Harper & Brothers.

• Heckman, J. J., Moon, S. H., Pinto, R., Savelyev, P. A., & Yavitz, A. (2010). The rate of return to the HighScope Perry Preschool Program. Journal of Public Economics, 94(1-2), 114–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2009.11.001

• Piaget, J. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children. International Universities Press.

• Popp, M. (1925). Contributions to child psychology and child psychiatry. Springer.

• Shonkoff, J. P., & Phillips, D. A. (Eds.). (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. National Academy Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/9824

• UNESCO. (2021). Early childhood care and education. UNESCO Publishing. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000375700

• Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman, Eds. & Trans.). Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1930)