EarlyEd Insights

                                                   THE UAE – NOW & THEN The UAE is fast emerging to be a salad bowl of cultures and traditions and the home to approximately 200 nationalities. I call it a ‘salad bowl’ rather than a ‘melting pot’ as I have my reasons for it. In a melting pot, every ingredient loses its individuality and uniqueness and assimilates into one single entity. Whereas in a salad bowl, every ingredient retains its individual flavor, colour, appearance while contributing to the rich diverse bowl of oneness and unity. The UAE is exactly the place to be in where you celebrate diversity, individuality, and identity while being an integral part of the UAE’s rich multiculturalism.  It is a place where many cultures, traditions and customs co-exist peacefully and in harmony. At the preschool, it is always a good practice, to cel...

         SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT IN YOUNG CHILDREN        (Article featured in:  ETA Journal - Switzerland - Vol.39; No.1; Summer 2022) “Spirituality refers to the child's relationship to a higher power, whether that be nature, God, the universe - even a tree. The key is that the force has a guiding and active place in the child's daily life.” – Lisa Miller The holistic development of a child includes physical, social, emotional, spiritual, intellectual and linguistic development. However, spiritual development has not been understood or researched as well as the other areas of child development. Moreover, there is this misconception that promoting spiritual development in a child is equal to imparting religious education as it is difficult to separate spirituality from religion. But the fact is that, religion without spirituality is dangerous and detrimental to oneself and to the wor...

        WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS HE HATES PRESCHOOL As a parent it is very upsetting and disturbing when your child says that he/she hates preschool. Before you decide to pull your child out of preschool or change his/her preschool, you need to study the situation carefully. You need to investigate and get to the real problem. Ask yourself questions that may help you to understand why your child dislikes preschool - questions such as: 1.     The preschool’s learning style: Is it in accordance with your child’s interests and likes. 2.     Did anything unpleasant happen in the preschool that has impacted your child? 3.     Is it you who is rushing? Have you given ample time to settle and adjust to the new environment and people? 4.     Did the preschool change the teacher, the caretaker, the classroom, or any of his/her favorite peers? 5.     Separation anxiety is a very normal emotion...

  SETTLING-IN Do Not Rush: All stakeholders namely parents, educators and child are clearly involved in the transition from home to nursery. It demands sound organization, proper arrangements and meticulous planning. Parents and children should feel comfortable in the nursery. Each child is a unique individual and settling in differs from child to child. Some may settle in a day, some in a week and some may take longer. So do not be upset if your child takes longer to settle in. DO NOT RUSH. Let him/her take his/her time. Give your child time and take it easy.   Recognition, Trust and Companionship: As of now, parents are the only reference persons that matters the most to the child. It will take some time for the child to recognize a new reference person, experience her, hear her, and rely on her. This will lead to building of trust. The new reference person will soon become the child’s best companion with whom he/she builds a sustainable relationship. Preparation i...

PREPARING FOR THE BIG DAY Time flies. Your child will soon be attending preschool. A wonderful journey of growth, learning, and development awaits your child ahead. However, there are a few things you need to keep in mind before starting preschool. First day is never easy for you and your child. You never know how your child will react on being left in the nursery for the first time. He/she may just walk into the classroom without any fuss or may scream, cry or even hang onto you tightly. It won’t be easy at all. The good news is there are a few strategies to overcome the challenge of separation from you and help your child develop coping mechanisms to deal with separation anxiety. 1.       Talk to your child about starting preschool: Before your child attends preschool, spend time talking to your child about his/her new school. With your enthusiasm, your child will develop excitement to attend preschool. 2.       Expose you...

  LET THEM PLAY For me, it has always been immensely enriching and rewarding to see young children indulge in play - whether it’s solitary or social play . Even today as an adult, when I look back at my childhood and think of the various games I played, I am left with a smile on my lips, warmth in my heart and life in my veins. Every time I decide to write on a topic, I discuss my next topic with my close ones to seek their opinion. This time the topic of discussion was ‘Play’ and I was surprised to see how less informed they all were and how underestimated its importance was. For them it was just fun and games, unstructured, and meaningless indulgence. I thus took on the mantle of penning down my thoughts on this very important aspect of child development and growth. An extremely busy lifestyle, increased emphasis on academic activities, addition of enrichment programs and change in familial structures from joint to nuclear units  have resulted in reduced hours of free ...

  THE IMPORTANCE OF NUTRITION FOR A HEALTHY, ACTIVE CHILD Working mothers have to do a balancing act most of the time. It is hard for them to prepare homemade food and therefore kids carry food items in their lunch boxes that are unhealthy. These unhealthy eating habits cause damage to the children’s well-being and are carried forward into their adulthood as well. To protect our children from lifelong and chronic diseases, it is important that we focus on their nutrition from the very beginning - right from breast feeding to breakfast and mealtimes - all need attention and commitment from parents. These are factors that can neither be underestimated nor neglected. However, it is very essential that healthy eating habits are instilled from a very young age, as habits developed in the early years stay for a lifetime. Teach your children to eat good, healthy, nutritional food so that they lead a happy, healthy life. Breakfast: A protein rich breakfast is an ideal way to start...