by Rita Princi-Hubbard
August 2019
The first 1000 days are very important as everything the child learns about their environment develops in this period, including who to trust in the present and in the future.
I have come to believe that children may be the most misunderstood beings on our planet! In my experience, the misunderstanding can occur throughout childhood and adolescence. The focus of this article is on early childhood, the first 1000 days, because it is a critical time to understand the child. The first 1000 days are very important as everything the child learns about their environment develops in this period, including who to trust in the present and in the future. The misunderstanding can be widespread among caregivers and educators and perhaps even for some therapists who focus solely on behavior and diagnosis. Unfortunately, this focus can then lead adults to seek strategies to control the child’s behavior rather than to understand the reason for the behavior and to connect and engage with the child. Caregivers may become frustrated when the child criticizes, doesn’t listen, argues with their siblings or peers, or is scared or worried about a relatively neutral object or situation. Educators may feel helpless when a child doesn’t join the group, doesn’t complete their activity, distracts others, hides under a table or lashes out.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
MATTHEW DAHLITZ
MANAGING EDITOR
RICHARD HILL
