Child Development

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Introduction

In developing countries, a large number of children are exposed to various risk factors in their early childhood. These include malnutrition, poor health and reduced levels of home stimulation. The risk factors including poverty, low levels of maternal education, child malnutrition, teenage parenting, increased levels of maternal stress and depression, low weights during birth, unsafe neighborhoods, and reduced stimulation at home, and those children that are exposed to a variety of risk factors are at a higher risk of poor development. For instance, a study carried out by Save the Children .(2003), estimates that more than 200 million children below the age of five in developing countries are not able to reach to their potential development because of poor health, nutrition and the general poverty levels in these countries. At the same time, the children perform poorly in school and their chances of having good economic opportunities in their later life are limited. This results in poverty generation, poor health and low development (Brooks-Gunn et al 2003).

Over the past few decades the number of children dying in developing countries has reduced significantly. Mortality rates has have decline and the general child health and parenting improved. There have been numerous programs introduced in these countries to enhance the growth and protection of children from the time they are born to a certain age say five years.

However, the benefits have not been evenly distributed, such that mortality in childhood remains higher in poorer countries and the gap between the poor and the rich continues to grow. Numerous poorer countries and some regions within countries that are poorer than the rest have been experiencing...

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...ematic Studies: Early Childhood Care and Development. Paris, France: UNESCO.

Power, O. Manor, & Matthews, S., 1999.The duration and timing of exposure: effects of socioeconomic environment on adult health. American Journal of Public Health, 1999. 89(7)(July): p. 1059-1065.

UNESCO. 2003. Gender and education for all: The leap to equality. Paris, France: Author.

Reynolds, A.J., Wang, M.C., & Walberg, H.J. (Eds.) 2003. Early childhood programs for a new century. Washington DC: Child Welfare League of America.

Sammons, P., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Taggart, B., & Elliot, K., 2002. Measuring the impact of preschool on children’s cognitive progress over the pre-school period (Technical Paper 8a). London: Institute of Education.

Save the Children .2003. What’s the difference? The impact of early child development programs. Katmandu, Nepal: Author.

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