Child development

HomeEarly childhood education resourcesChild development
type here...
Early childhood
Thought leadership
School

Child development

HomeEarly childhood education resourcesChild development

Topic summary

It is important for early childhood teachers and leaders to have a sound understanding of the key aspects of child development, and what they mean for early childhood education and care provision.

A child’s brain grows rapidly in the early years, starting before birth and continuing into early childhood. This means that, while the brain continues to develop and change into adulthood, the first 8 years of a child’s life build the foundation for their future success in terms of health, education, and life more broadly. How well a child’s brain develops depends on their genes as well as other factors including proper nutrition and their experiences and interactions with other people and the world. Nurturing and responsive care for a child’s body and mind is the key to supporting healthy brain development.

The early years of a child’s life are very important for their health and development. Healthy development means that all children have their social, emotional, and educational needs met. Safe, caring environments and strong, reciprocal relationships are essential to a child’s healthy development. Proper nutrition, exercise, and sleep also can make a big difference.

There is an extensive body of evidence that establishes what is required for a child’s healthy physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development.

Some of the factors that have been demonstrated to support healthy development in children include responding to children in a predictable way, showing warmth and sensitivity, and having routines and rules. Sharing books and talking with children, promoting movement and exercise, and following effective nutrition and feeding practices also contribute in important ways. Being aware of developmental milestones, which give a general idea of the changes to expect as a child gets older, is also useful, although it is important to remember that all children develop at their own pace.

  • How can we ensure our environment is safe, caring, and warm?
  • How can we ensure responsive, reciprocal interactions with all children?
  • How do we support a range of movement and physical activity?
  • How well do our feeding practices support nutrition and positive body image?
  • How can we provide lots of opportunities for talk and sharing stories?

Research reviews

How to support positive food environments in early childhood settings

An introduction to practices that support children to develop a positive relationship with food and their bodies.

Webinars

Establishing positive educational trajectories in early childhood education

Professor Claire McLachlan and colleagues share their project exploring how early childhood settings can inspire positive educational trajectories among young children

Supporting positive food environments in early childhood settings

Gabrielle Orr discusses the research into effective nutrition and feeding practices that support children to develop a positive relationship with food and their bodies.

Infographics

Snapshots

Inspiring children’s career aspirations and building knowledge about the world of work

Key insights from the webinar with the Possible Me research team.

Positive eating practices for supporting children’s healthy relationships with food

The key ideas and strategies from our webinar with dietitian Gabrielle Orr.
“Thanks for the opportunity. This was without doubt amongst the best professional development I have done in many years.”
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching
“I've just started and it's incredible! Best professional learning course I have participated in in a long time. I've just completed Part 2 – so inspiring!”
Course participant
Visual Arts in ECE
"I loved how the course was laid out. It was easy to leave and pick up where I had left off. The site was easy to navigate and I liked the videos that backed up the reading."
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching
“Continue with your excellent work. I get feedback that student teachers love it too.”
Educator
Martinborough
“I have found all your webinars to be of incredible value to myself and my team. Thank you.”
Centre Leader
Auckland
“You guys are doing a FABULOUS job - keep up the great work. And thank-you for offering free webinars; readings etc - in this current climate it is so hard to find money for extra things and PD is usually the first thing that gets a budget cut. Having access to your webinars means that there is no excuse for my teachers not keep professionally ahead of the game. My team and I certainly appreciate it.”
Early childhood teacher
Wellington
“I LOVE your work. It is super useful as an AST in a large COL, The Education Hub is a springboard for my own self-driven PD and a good resource for the spectrum of needs in our Kahui Ako. Thank you for the epic work you do!”
Advanced Skills Teacher
New Zealand
“Appreciate the diverse range of resources on offer!”
Intermediate school teacher
New Zealand
“The Education Hub is a gem and I recommend it to all schools I work with.”
Education consultant
New Zealand
“The resources and support provided by The Education Hub are greatly appreciated. As an HOD in a small school, in a small department usually made up of beginning teachers, it often falls on my shoulders alone to try and be up to date with ensuring our programmes are founded on sound pedagogical practices in terms of teaching in general and our particular curriculum area ... so I'm like a sponge when it comes to what you provide.”
Head of Department
“The Hub articles have been really useful and provided conversations for staff meetings and provocations for teachers. Thank you - great work and food for thought.”
School leader
Dunedin
“Articles are always well considered and written. I enjoy the content; it’s a superb resources for teachers”
Teacher (primary)
Tauranga
"I love this site!! I love everything you do for us educators, professional leaders and whanau. I loved this site during my studies last year when I upgraded to a Degree. Love it – thank you!"
New entrant teacher
Wellington
“I really value the Education Hub as a non-partisan (and non-reactionary) force for building consensus around what works and what matters in (New Zealand) education. There's nothing like it, and without it we'd be at the mercy of the more vociferous at both ends of the spectrum (progressive vs conservative).”
Deputy Principal
Christchurch
“Keep up the great mahi, I would struggle to have conversations with teachers about current pedagogy without you!”
Professional development provider
Auckland
“Having discovered The Education Hub this year, it has been timely as I navigate the teaching of structured literacy. The content has been so relevant and reliable, I come away wanting more.”
Primary teacher
Nelson
“The information I have gained from the webinars I have watched this year has been so enlightening and it has fueled my desire to further my own knowledge. We are lucky to have such a great resource.”
Preschool teacher
Palmerston North
“Thank you for providing high quality professional learning that is easily accessible.”
High school teacher
Napier
“I really appreciate the quality and range of the webinars you provide. I love that I can access them later if I don't get to watch them at the time.”
Teacher
Bay of Plenty
"Thank you! This course has renewed my passion for writing meaningful learning stories that are backed up with intentional teaching and show progression of learning and development."
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching
“Thank you to those of you who are working hard to keep this resource relevant and accessible for all of us in the education sector. More specifically, I appreciate the balanced approach taken by your team to specific topic”
School leader
Manukau
"I liked the mix of different aspects that kept things interesting, I enjoyed sharing my new learning with my colleagues and I loved learning new practical aspects of story writing."
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching
“Thank you so much for the valuable service you provide. We are so lucky to have access to this quality of resources.”
Graduate teacher
Blenheim
"I loved how the course was laid out. It was easy to leave and pick up where I had left off. The site was easy to navigate and I liked the videos that backed up the reading."
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching

Get unlimited access to all our webinars

Buy a webinar subscription for yourself, your school or centre and enjoy savings of up to 25%

The Education Hub has changed the way it provides webinar content, to enable us to continue creating our high-quality content for teachers.
A subscription of just NZ$60+GST per person provides access to all our live webinars for 12 months, plus the ability to watch any of the recordings in our archive. Alternatively, you can buy access to individual webinars for just $9.95+GST each.
We welcome group enrolments, and offer discounts of up to 25%. Simply follow the instructions to indicate the size of your group, and we'll calculate the price for you. 
Find out more

UNLIMITED ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION

NZ$ 60 per person +GST
Access to all our online sessions with leading experts:
  • All live webinars for 12 months
  • Access to our archive of over 80 webinars
  • Personalised certificates
  • Group savings of up to 25%
Buy now

About The Education Hub

The Education Hub’s mission is to bridge the gap between research and practice in education. We want to empower educators to find, use and share research to improve their teaching practice, and then share their innovations. We are building the online and offline infrastructure to support this to improve opportunities and outcomes for students.

New Zealand registered charity number: CC54471

Find out more

We’ll keep you updated

Follow us on social media

Like what we do? Please support us

Donate now to show your appreciation

© The Education Hub 2024 All rights reserved | Site design: KOPARA

Close popup
Message from The Education Hub Choose how you stay up to date

Early childhood education
School

Your details:

Already have an account? Login here

* Required fields

By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

We value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. The data you provide on this form will be used to keep you informed about our latest news, updates, and promotional offers. Rest assured, your information will be handled in strict accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Your data will be stored securely, and you have the right to access, correct, or delete your information at any time. For more details, please review our Privacy Policy or Terms of Service.