1. The developmental health perspective
The first 2000 days of life, from conception to age 5, is a period of astonishing cognitive, social, emotional and physical growth that launches developmental trajectories into the years ahead. These developmental trajectories are the particular paths that individuals follow from conception until death.
The developmental health perspective of early child development focuses on the “big picture” of human development, stressing the importance of early experience in lifelong health and well-being for individuals and for populations. It combines the more traditional developmental psychology viewpoint with a population health perspective and helps us to understand how genes, biology and environments interact to shape developmental outcomes for children, adults and whole populations.
Some “big” developmental health questions:
- How do experiences in early childhood affect us in years to come? What key factors make a difference?
- Why is early childhood experience considered a social determinant of health, learning and behaviour?
- What is the impact of child poverty?
- How can we reduce inequities within and between societies, especially for children?
The following video encapsulates the developmental health perspective. The voices of researchers, experts and community members interspersed with images of children and families around the world, explain why early childhood is such an important period – not only for optimizing individual lives but also in strengthening population health and prosperity.
What resonates for you in this video?
Can you give three reasons why a focus on early child development (ECD) might be key to the future prosperity of nations?
How might this video be useful to you in your work?
Dr. Daniel Keating, professor at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, first coined the term “Developmental Health”. Listen to him explain what developmental health means and why it is important for those working with young children to understand this concept.
In our daily work, many of us involved in ECD tend to focus on individual children and families; however, the developmental health perspective is all about thinking in terms of populations. Populations are large groups of people. The population of a neighbourhood, city, or country refers to the group of people who are within those boundaries. A strong and healthy population is the overarching goal in most societies.
In the following clip, the late Dr. Clyde Hertzman, founding director of the Human Early Learning Program (HELP) at the University of British Columbia, explains what population health means, especially for those interested in early child development.
Hertzman goes on to explain what Developmental Health means and gives a few examples of factors that can make a difference.
Think about your own community. Are there populations in your city, region or country that are doing much better than others?
What may be some specific factors that can account for these differences?
What factors could be barriers to healthy child development?
Are you involved in work that supports developmental health? In what ways?
Developmental health takes a life-course perspective on early child development. Dr. Maureen Black, professor of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland, explains.
Keeping in mind the concept of developmental health, it is important to think about what we mean by child well-being. Child well-being is so much more than the absence of problems. Child well-being is an “umbrella” term that encompasses learning, behaviour and health. It is a focus on the strengths which nurture a child’s ability to thrive in all aspects of life – physically, social-emotionally and cognitively.
Canada is an extremely socially diverse country with Indigenous peoples, a large French-speaking minority and many people from other parts of the globe. Twenty percent of Canada’s 35 million people were born elsewhere, mostly from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East (Global Centre for Pluralism, 2017). Consider the examples of different populations shown in the next video about Family Resource Programs. These communities are very diverse but hold some common values.
Why is it important for communities to have centres where all people can fit in and feel welcome?
How does this benefit children?
Is social isolation a problem in your community?
The program implies that all communities, no matter what the social or economic makeup, benefit from centres such as family resource programs. What do you think?
Global goals for developmental health
The Global community has joined together twice through the United Nations to establish global goals for developmental health. First, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (2000-2015) consisting of eight broad goals, ranging from ending poverty to eradicating HIV AIDS, to establishing universal primary education. The MDGs provided a blueprint for development for all countries, with mixed results.
The era of the MDGs ended in 2015. At that time, the global community convened once again and established the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (2015-2030). Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, founding director at the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health, at the Aga Khan University and Inaugural Robert Harding Chair in Global Child Health at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, explains.
In the link below, click on each picture to learn more about each of the Sustainable Development Goals. An exciting advance, lauded by early childhood advocates from around the world, has been the explicit focus on early child development. See Target 4.2 for more information.
The SDGs are definitely part of the ‘big picture’ perspective of developmental health. Do you think it’s important for Early Childhood Educators to be aware of global initiatives such as the SDGs?
Explore the following UN website to find more information about the SDGs.
The following points are central to the developmental health perspective:
- New insight about how nature and nurture interact has led to greater understanding of human development and changed traditional ways of thinking – not only about child development, but also about what determines individual and population health.
- Population data show that developmental trajectories, although changeable, are heavily influenced by early experience and that what happens early in life sets the stage for what is to follow.
- The joint influences of biology and experience affect us on a cellular level. Together they determine both health and well-being and also influence vulnerability and resilience.
- There is a social gradient for almost all developmental health outcomes – this means that those with fewer resources tend to be less healthy, less educated, and poorer than those with slightly more resources and so forth.
- There are exceptions to this trend, people who thrive despite poor circumstances and others who falter despite advantages. Those who do well are considered resilient but they are in the minority. A key interest in Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) is discovering what can make the difference for children and support resilience.
