By Antonio G. Papa, Ph.D.
Development, as a construct, is a very important notion for every aspect of life of a child.
To achieve development, there must be changes that cause growth for him and for his welfare. For without change and growth, no development will occur.
As far as development of the child is concerned, research result states that there are three contributory factors that should be considered, namely: genetic make-up, training, and environment.
Both parents contribute 50 percent each for the genetic make-up of the child. Therefore, the inherited genes of a child from the parents are already present in him and just waiting to be enhanced.
It is said that “the parents are the first and the best teachers for children.” It is so because their home is also considered as the best classroom. Having a conducive household climate and culture––as an environment for the developing individual and a special training ground for him––will yield a very good results.
Child as focal point of development
A child is a young person between infancy and youth. As young as possible, train him to be a well-rounded individual. Acoordingly, children who follow the godly walk with integrity of their parents are blessed by the Almighty God.
At this juncture, development efforts must start at home and particularly focused to the child. This notion corroborates with the quotation I encountered when I officially visited the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction that states “Education is the key to human (child) development, and in turn, the key to all other developments.”
Hence, considering the three factors discussed earlier and focusing on the child as the center of development which is influenced by early childhood education––the intellectual, social, cultural, moral, spiritual, emotional, physical, and adversarial aspects in his life will be holistically developed.
Types of child’s abilities
The best way of measuring the child’s abilities is through his Intelligence Quotient (IQ), Social Quotient (SQ), Cultural Quotient (CQ), Moral Quotient (MQ), Spiritual Quotient (SpQ), Emotional Quotient (EQ), Physical Quotient (PQ), and Adversarial Quotient (AQ).
IQ refers to the measure of the child’s comprehension ability, solve mathematical problems, memorize things, and recall subject matters.
SQ is the measure of the child’s ability to build a network of friends and maintain it over a long period of time.
CQ is the measure of the child’s awareness of cross-cultural differences and the ability to function successfully in cross-cultural situations.
MQ refers to the measure of the child’s ability to choose right from wrong and is tied with his ability to understand and reason logically.
SpQ refers to the measure of the child’s ability to revere as well as give glory and honor to the Almighty Father.
EQ is the measure of the child’s ability to maintain or be at peace with others; keep to time; respect boundaries; be responsible; be honest; and be humble, genuine and considerate.
PQ is the measure of child’s capacity to do the tasks demanding an individual’s stamina, dexterity, strength and similar characteristics.
AQ is the measure of the child’s ability to go through a rough side of life and later emerge as victorious – a victor with a clear mindset.
Implications to child’s development
Heredity has to do with the intellectual aspect of the child. Inherited qualities of the child with 50 percent each contributed by both parents constitute their baseline characteristics.
Another research findings conclude that approximately 50 percent of the child’s intelligence is developed at age four, another 30 percent by the age of eight and the remaining 20 percent by the age of 17. This implies that an early childhood education is a must to fully make use of the formative period of the child.
The data implies that half of the cognitive development among children is rapidly established at home in between their physical birth and social birth. Hence parents have the strongest influence among their children while they are still at home mingling with them as a primary group––the family.
Likewise, discipline must have been employed by parents as early as possible in the life of the child because it produces wisdom.
So, in the life of the child, the home; the schools––pre-school, primary school, intermediate school as well as Children’s Worship Service (CWS) have great influence for the child’s intellectual and spiritual development.
The influence of environment and training hones the other aspects of life of the child.
Parents should not only concentrate on the academic aspect but also in other areas of life of the child. Aside from IQ, enhance also the other aspects of life of the child since the new school of thoughts nowadays sought for the improvement of all the child’s Qs to complete their holistic development.
With these, the child will become a well-rounded individual and a multi-faceted human being who can do things independently––the key to a successful life.
Hence, the importance of education in the life of the child could be sourced out from their training at home with the guidance of his parents––his informal education, school’s extra-curricular activities and CWS encounters––his non-formal education, and in-school’s academic life––his formal education.
Dr. Antonio G. Papa is the second Head Deacon at the Local Congregation of Indang, Ecclesiastical District of Cavite South. He is a retired University Professor at the College of Economics, Management and Development Studies, Cavite State University (CvSU) in Indang, Cavite. In 2018, he served as a Scientist 1 and Consultant at Marinduque State College in Boac, Marinduque. He is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education degree at the Don Severino Agricultural College now CvSU in 1978, and both Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Extension Education at the University of the Philippines at Los Baños, College, Laguna in 1986 and 1991, respectively.
