Dynamics of Nature-Based Learning in Developing Children’s Motoricic Skills: Teacher and Parent Perspectives

The nature-based learning approach involves the direct integration of nature into learning processes and the facilitation of firsthand nature experiences. Considering the benefits it provides across a wide range of areas, including social development, cognitive development, emotional development, motor skills, and health, it becomes evident that the integration of this approach into early childhood, a critical period for individual development, is significant. In this context, this study primarily examines the nature-based learning approach from a theoretical framework perspective. At this point, Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory, experiential learning theory and place-based learning theory, which are noted in the literature as having an impact on the nature-based learning approach, are mentioned. Furthermore, the implementations of nature-based learning during early childhood and the underlying approaches supporting these implementations are examined in general terms. This study aims to highlight the diversity of educational models that provide nature-based learning experiences through nature-integrated learning environments offered by various approaches, including Kindergarten, Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, and forest schools.

Data for action on early childhood development

Varying trajectories of infant television viewing over the first four years of life: Relations to language development and executive functions

This study delves into the significance of early childhood care and education (ECCE) in Bangladesh, with a specific focus on play-based learning. It emphasizes the recent curriculum changes that prioritize experiential learning and play-based activities to enhance children's cognitive, social, and motor development. The research method employed a multiple-case approach within diverse daycare settings in Bangladesh, involving teachers, parents, and ECCE experts. Through observation, interviews, and data analysis, the study identified the benefits and challenges of play-based learning in ECCE settings. Results revealed the positive impact of play-based activities on children's cognitive, social, and emotional development, as well as their language and communication skills. Parental involvement, peer interactions, and physical facilities of daycare centers were also observed. The study underlines the need for more space and trained teachers for effective implementation of play-based learning strategies. Challenges such as limited resources and lack of awareness were hindering parental expectations. Recommendations were made to encourage a play-based approach in ECCE settings, emphasizing the importance of creating supportive environments for holistic child development. Overall, the study sheds light on the potential of play-based learning in early childhood education and advocates for its wider implementation in Bangladesh.


 The age period of 0-8 years is the most important moment for every human being to develop all the developmental features supported by parents at home and teachers / tutors at the Early Childhood Education Institute (ECE). In parenting, six main aspects must be known and applied by each parent. Lack of education, nutritional knowledge, care and care, and aspects of clean-living habits in the family can have an impact on children's growth and development processes. This study aims to develop a module 6 aspects of child development for parental guidance. This study uses a research and development approach to test the effectiveness of the posttest design. Respondents in this study are parents who have children up to 5 years and early childhood educators. The findings show that from these six main aspects, it seems that parents and ECE tutors do not yet understand the ECE concept. In another perspective, there is still a lack of knowledge about these 6 main aspects which require training and parenting modules to develop the 6 aspects of child development.
 Keywords: Early Childhood Education, Child Development Aspect, Parenting Training Module

Game-based learning has gained popularity in recent years as a tool for enhancing learning outcomes in children. This approach uses games to teach various subjects and skills, promoting engagement, motivation, and fun. In early childhood education, game-based learning has the potential to promote cognitive, social, and emotional development. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to summarize the existing literature on the effectiveness of game-based learning in early childhood education This systematic review and meta-analysis examine the effectiveness of game-based learning in early childhood education. The results show that game-based learning has a moderate to large effect on cognitive, social, emotional, motivation, and engagement outcomes. The findings suggest that game-based learning can be a promising tool for early childhood educators to promote children's learning and development. However, further research is needed to address the remaining gaps in the literature. The study's findings have implications for educators, policymakers, and game developers who aim to promote positive child development and enhance learning outcomes in early childhood education.

Auditory Brain Development in Children with Hearing Loss – Part Two

Eyes Open, Ears On: Supporting Hearing Technology Use in Children with Hearing Loss

Health supervision visits for infants and toddlers are core to the work of primary care pediatrics. Pediatricians provide the majority of the well-child visits to children who are younger than 3 years. Data from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) show that the typical pediatrician provides 35 health supervision visits a week to children 35 months and younger.1 Increasingly, pediatricians are asked to address not only traditional issues in these visits, such as immunizations and physical growth, but also developmental needs and psychosocial issues in the family. Professional guidelines (AAP Guidelines for Health Supervision III, Bright Futures),2,3 innovative programs (eg, Healthy Steps),4 and recent policy studies (eg, National Academy of Science’s From Neurons to Neighborhoods )5 point to the importance of anticipatory guidance for child health and development. Physicians, particularly pediatricians, are the professionals who see virtually all US children in the first few years of life. Through these unique contacts, pediatricians play an important role in identifying potential problems and helping parents to promote their children’s healthy development. Despite the importance of these visits, little is known about the process, content, and quality of health supervision, particularly from the perspective of parents. This supplement to Pediatrics reports results of a new national survey, the 2000 National Survey of Early Childhood Health (NSECH), which was designed to address this information gap. The NSECH is a unique survey of parents of infants and toddlers, developed to monitor the health of young children, assess child health service delivery, and inform child health policy. The NSECH provides critical national-level information about the content and quality of preventive health care for young children, as well as parenting practices in early childhood that can affect the cognitive, emotional, and social development of children. Many of the specific measures included …

The survival rate of newborns with perinatal complications has increased due to advancements in medical care and technology. As a result, there has been a rise in neurobehavioral disorders among these infants. Early diagnosis is crucial, given the brain's intense neural plasticity during the first few years of life, which facilitates early intervention and optimizes outcomes. Identifying these disorders relies on the use of reliable, validated scales that have demonstrated sensitivity and specificity. This narrative review aims to discuss several key areas: the theoretical framework regarding the evolution of infant motor development, the importance of contextual factors for development during the first year of life, the characteristics of at-risk infants, and the instruments used to assess motor development in both preterm and full-term infants during the first months of life. Additionally, this review examines the description and validity of the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) in both Brazil and worldwide. Method: An online search was conducted in the Medline, LILACS, Google Scholar, PubMed, and SciELO databases from January 2024 to January 2025. The search included 145 articles, 13 books, and three official government documents. This review covers the following topics: (1) The origin and evolution of infant motor development; (2) The importance of context for development; (3) The characteristics of preterm infants; (4) Instruments for assessing motor development in preterm and full-term infants during the first months of life; e (5) The Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP). Conclusions: This review emphasizes the importance of early and accurate assessment of motor development in children. Understanding motor development milestones and the factors that may influence them—such as care conditions, environmental stimulation, and cultural practices—is essential. In this context, the use of validated and reliable assessment tools is crucial for the early detection of developmental delays, enabling more effective and timely interventions.

Reports that the earliest years of children (through age 5) establish their entire trajectory of human capital and determine much of their economic and social-emotional well-being in adulthood. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted household investments in children’s nutrition, children’s access to essential services, the mental health of caregivers, and the quality-of-care children receive at home. These deficits in inputs have also translated into declines in motor, language, cognitive, and social-emotional development in both high- and low-income settings. To prevent this poor start from amplifying into greater human capital losses as these children progress along the life cycle, policies in the short to medium term should prioritize (1) arranging transfers for households whose income has still not recovered; (2) launching catch-up campaigns for vaccination and nutrition; (3) organizing parenting programs to encourage more cognitive and social-emotional stimulation in the home; (4) restoring and expanding coverage of pre-primary education; and (5) offering parents mental health counseling programs.

Family empowerment in families of young children with cerebral palsy (CP) is an important consideration because the first few years of life can be overwhelming for parents. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between family empowerment, fine motor (FM), gross motor (GM) and cognitive development in children with CP who were under 3 years of age. Forty-one children with a mean age of 23.8 months participated in this study. The Family Empowerment Scale (FES) was completed by the participants' parents, whereas the FM, GM and cognitive subscales of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development Third edition (B-III) were administered by physical therapists. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between the FES total and B-III raw scores for FM, GM and cognitive subscales with coefficients ranging from 0.35 to 0.41. Significant relationships were also found between the FES Community subscale and the B-III FM, GM and cognitive subscales. This study provides evidence of a relationship between family empowerment and FM, GM and cognitive abilities in young children with CP, with a greater severity of impairments related to lower levels of caregiver empowerment.

Should All Deaf Children Learn Sign Language?

Nutritional and developmental insults in the first few years of life have profound public health implications, including substantial contributions to neonatal, infant, and early childhood morbidity and mortality, as well as longer term effects on cognitive development, school achievement, and worker productivity. Optimal development that can lead to the attainment of an individual's fullest potential, therefore, requires a combination of genetic capacity, adequate nutrition, psychosocial stimulation, and safe, clean physical environments. Researchers and policymakers have called for integrated child nutrition and development interventions for more than 20 years, yet there are only a handful of efficacy trials and even fewer examples of integrated interventions that have been taken to scale. While a critical component in the design of such interventions is formative research, there is a dearth of information in both the literature and policy arenas to guide this phase of the process. To move the field forward, this paper first provides an overview of formative research methods with a focus on qualitative inquiry, a description of the critical domains to be assessed (infant and young child feeding, responsive feeding, and child development), and currently available resources. Application of these methods is provided through a real-world case study--the design of an integrated nutrition and child development efficacy trial in Andhra Pradesh, India. Recommendations for next steps are discussed, the most important of which is the need for a comprehensive set of formative guidelines for designing locally tailored, culturally appropriate, integrated interventions.

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of nature-based learning in developing gross motor skills in early childhood. The research method used was an experiment with a pretest-posttest design involving two groups: an experimental group undergoing nature-based learning and a control group with conventional methods. The results showed that the experimental group experienced a significant increase in the mean score of gross motor skills from 19.70 to 26.20 (p < 0.05). In contrast, the control group only showed a small increase with an average change of 1.30 (p < 0.05). This finding indicates that nature-based learning is more effective than conventional methods in supporting early childhood gross motor skill development. The conclusions emphasize the importance of integrating nature-based learning in the early childhood education curriculum to support motor development and other developmental aspects. Further research is recommended to explore different nature-based learning approaches and their impact on holistic child development.