Learning about the international early childhood field

One consequence of learning about the international early childhood field is that poverty is an issue with children around the world and no one has the answer on how to combat it.

The second issue is that children are important and need to be treated with respect. In Paraguay, the consequences of this were that parents were more likely to keep yards hazard free, kept their children cleaner, and provided a special spot for toys. Further consequences of this would be that parents would spend more time interacting with their children and that family engagement would increase.

The third issue is the need for quality child care for all children. As stated by the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, “The care that infants receive, whether from parents, extended family members, neighbors, or child care professionals, lays the groundwork for the development of a wide range of basic biological processes that support emotion regulation, sleep-wake patterns, attention, and ultimately all psychosocial functioning.” The consequences of this are that while there are many programs and policies for those with limited income, there is little provided for middle-income parents who don’t qualify for assistance. These policies also do not address the time constraints of working parents.

Learning about international issues and trends in early childhood made me realize that some places in the world are not as far along in their early childhood system as we are in the US. On the other hand, some European countries are much further ahead of us as far as the importance placed on early childhood and the programs offered. My goal for the field as far as international awareness is that we need to communicate with colleagues from other countries in order to share what we know to those who are still developing their early childcare systems and learn from those who are who are ahead of us.