1. The developmental health perspective
How do experiences in early childhood affect us in years to come?
What key factors make a difference?
What do we mean when we say that early childhood experience is a “social determinant of health, learning and behaviour”?
How does poverty affect children?
What can we do to improve outcomes for children, communities and societies?
The developmental health perspective of early child development focuses on the “big picture”. It combines two perspectives: developmental psychology – that looks at individual development, and population health – that looks at the well-being of groups such as communities and societies. Developmental health connects what we know about individuals with what we know about populations. The developmental health perspective stresses the importance of early experience in lifelong health and well-being for individuals and for populations.
Individuals
When we think about how well an individual is developing, we can think about his/her well-being. Child well-being is so much more than the absence of problems. It is an “umbrella” term that encompasses learning, behaviour, and health. It is a way to think about how a child is doing in all aspects of life – physically, social-emotionally, and cognitively. The following slides show explanations of the different domains or areas of development along with photos from around the world.
Populations
To understand the developmental health perspective, we need to think in terms of populations. 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, from the Human Early Learning Program (HELP) at University of British Columbia, explains what population health means, especially for those interested in early child development.
Think about your 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?
Early childhood is a period of astonishing cognitive, social, emotional, and physical growth. As we have seen throughout this resource, conditions and experiences in the early years affect the path that an individual will follow throughout their lifetime. These paths are called, “trajectories”. On the next page, you will learn about trajectories and some of the things in early life that affect them.
