Early Childhood Development

544 Words2 Pages

I became interested in Early Childhood Development at a very young age. I grew up having to learn to be very responsible and look after my two younger brothers after school and on weekends when my mother had to go to work. In my household, and those of my family, there was always a baby or child running or crawling around, and they always seemed to be drawn to me and I to them. During my teen years, whenever there was a family function it was me who always seemed to have all the younger children put into my lap, "I am the best with kids," or "born to be a mom," my relatives would always say. I was more than happy to take the children out of their hair because of the unconditional amount of love and trust they showed anyone who gave them the …show more content…

The class fascinated me and made me realize that I loved kids, not only because they loved everyone, but because I understood what they needed because they told me and I could listen to and understand their incoherent baby language. Children's random outbursts of frustration or "bad" behavior did not make me irritated or dislike them, but gave me a strong yearning to help get them what they needed and to help them solve their problems independently. I chose to take another college class my senior year that allowed me to work with infants and toddlers of all ages in a classroom setting. That year I learned more about children and how they developed than I could have ever imagined. I grew to love every one of those kids, with every story they told me and with every new thing they learned throughout the year. The four most important things I could have ever learned from those children and the class is: there is no such thing as a 'bad" child, only a misunderstood one; children do not want their work done for them, but for grown-ups to show them how to finish what they start; it is important to get down to very child's level, physically and emotionally, so communication is clear; and that giving a child a blank canvas to put their art on is the best way to increase and support a child's creativity and independent

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