This essay will discuss the Importance of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). Early childhood is the period from birth to eight years old as defined by the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). During this period, a child goes through the most rapid and important phase of growth and development. It involves the development of cognitive skills (such as attention, memory, and thinking), motor skills (movements such as drawing pictures and writing neatly), and language development and thus the child grows into a young person who can take care of his or her own. For example, according to the Harvard University researchers, by the first year, the parts of the brain that differentiate sound, becomes specialized to the exposed language (mother language); at the same time, the brain starts to lose the ability to recognize different sounds from other languages. Also, Dr. Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000 reported that the human brain is most receptive to learning, between birth and three years of age. The foundations for the child’s emotional and physical health, self-esteem, social, cognitive, linguistic skills, and moral outlook are established during the early years. Therefore, early childhood care and education are extremely important as the foundation for the future.
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