A child development program takes into account all aspects of a child's mental, physical, and social development.
A child development program is a program typically implemented at the preschool level, and one which takes into account all areas of a child's growth and learning: the physical (making sure a child is in good health, well nourished, well rested, and provided with appropriate exercise), the cognitive (making sure a child is able to acquire and make use of knowledge), the psychological (making sure a child has a healthy self-awareness and sense of self worth), the linguistic (making sure a child not only has a good vocabulary, but is able to make situationally appropriate use of same), the social (making sure a child has the ability to interact well with others, including those of diverse backgrounds), and the ethical (making sure a child has respect for the rights of self and others). In a typical traditional school setting, where all of the focus is on academic achievement, children may be perceived as very intelligent and high-achieving, and yet still be unable to find success in life. Children who have been prepared for learning by attention to all of the areas needed to develop a balanced character are far more likely to achieve personal growth and to find not only success but happiness as well.
In implementing a child development program, it is important for educators, administrators, and parents to work together. Administrators must create the framework in which development can occur, and must make sure that the necessary tools and policies are in place and outside resources drawn on when necessary, such as social workers or medical professionals. Educators need to make sure they are able to promote desirable social relationships among children, and to ensure that the educational experiences they present are lively and engaging and relevant to the children's world as they experience it. And parents, always the most important factor in any child's development, need to be actively involved in their children's education. It is only through parental support of any program's academic and social components that it's teaching can really sink in and become a vital part of each child's life and learning experience. For a developmental program to succeed, these three groups must work together, and there are certain guiding principles that must be agreed upon and adhered to. Chief among such principles are the concepts of collaborative problem solving rather than blame and of consensus building. Dialogue and understanding between administrators, educators, and parents is what will allow them to arrive at decisions which will truly promote the children's best interest at all times.
Child developmental programs can focus on different aspects of children's and well-being - there are early developmental programs which take into account prenatal care and promote healthy parenting and infant development. There are also programs specifically targeted at low-income families, in which specific needs like housing, parental employment, childcare options, and social welfare benefits are promoted. Other programs focus on special-needs children, on targeted minority groups, or on special-needs groups such as the children of migrant workers. As all child developmental programs focus on the whole child, it is important to have all of a child's needs met in order for any developmental learning to take place. Children who are hungry or inadequately housed or ill or are the target of discrimination are not going to be able to learn to their full potential.
Although it may seem like a daunting task for a community to undertake, research has shown time and again that the "whole child" approach to child development is one that has the greatest success rate of any educational method, and is the one that is likely to promote the greatest degree of well-being in all areas of a child's life.
