Early Childhood Education mostly refers to an important part of early childhood education, especially from birth to the age of 2 (Currie, 2011a). Under the guidance and advice of the United Nations, many developing countries have in recent years begun to establish local policy support and plans for early childhood education in pursuit of the sustainable development goals of the United Nations (Unicef, 2019). Early childhood programs can influence a child’s intelligence level and cognitive behaviour in their future life (Currie, 2011a). Early childhood education can also engender social and economic benefits (Galinsky, 2006). Therefore, early childrenhood program could promote community building in low and middle-income countries, and provide children in these areas with more opportunities for future employment.

Development of Children

Children go through many physiological changes, especially with the growth of the brain and nervous system and the development of physical movements (Best, 2010). These also have a significant impact on their psychological development. According to the synergetic theory, there are various manifestations of a child as a result of maturity and the spontaneous improvement due to environmental and educational influences, such as action, language, emotion, cognition (Dumas et al., 2001).

There are other aspects of inherent spontaneous nature such as, autonomy and creativity, which can be described as the interaction between the internal and external environment with various information and energy (Liu et al., 2011). Adults should respect the subjectivity, practicality, wholeness, connection and creativity of children’s development. Access to early education does not necessarily guarantee high-quality educational outcomes, and so early childhood interventions place a strong emphasis on the mental health of children (Currie, 2011b).

Advantages for children’s mental health

An early systematic childhood education curriculum can help the early years’ children to improve their cognitive and learning ability, and to lay the foundations for their future development. Early childhood intervention can deliver psychological and emotional stability for children, to guide children in early childhood education activities and focus attention and participation in positive interaction (Hemmeter et al., 2006). In early childhood intervention, the interaction between the child and the caregiver includes social and attention guidance of the child by the intervener (including professional educators or trained early childhood education volunteers, etc.), which can engender positive emotional outcomes for the children, as well as the development of other interpersonal relationship cognition (Currie, 2011a; Hemmeter et al., 2006).

Children who receive a professional early years’ education are more confident and perform better in adolescence. There is more positive peer representations than for those children who had not experienced early childhood education interventions; they enjoy a more intimate and supportive friendship (Kirk et al., 2011).

A 17-year follow-up study also found that children who exhibited more autonomous sharing at ages 4 and 5 have relatively mature levels of prosocial moral reasoning throughout childhood, adolescence and into early adulthood; they are more willing to help others, are more considerate of others, and more exhibit sophisticated reasoning about pro social issues and social responsibility (Awartani & Looney, 2015). It can be seen that pro-sociality can be established very early and has considerable stability. Children who exhibit depressive, irritable and aggressive behaviour between the ages of 3 and 10 could be predicted to be more vulnerable to aggression and other antisocial tendencies. This means that aggression, once established, can have a certain degree of negative impact on an individual’s future mental health (Noddings, 2003).

Advantages for parents’ mental health

Early childhood intervention is also beneficial to the mental health of parents. It has been shown that through early education, parents can realize the importance of children’s temperament, and by improving parental understanding and attitudes, parents can gain better understanding and can accept the characteristics of children’s temperament (Mensah & Kiernan, 2010). A good parent-child relationship can be established from an early stage, providing a suitable living environment for children. In addition to learning about scientific parenting, parent participation in early years’ intervention programs with their children can stimulate their enthusiasm for participation and create interactive communication platforms for parents (Engert et al., 2009).

Parents can seek the help of professional interventionists when they encounter child rearing problems, whilst professionals may provide partial answers to parental questions based on their professional knowledge (Schertz & Odom, 2007). When professional interventionists do encounter problems that need to be resolved by any specific specialty, they can guide parents to seek help from specific specialty clinics, for which parental acceptance will be higher. After receiving and participating in the Early Childhood Intervention Program, parents will be able to investigate their mental health status through SCL-90, and perhaps realise that their anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms have been significant and have seen improvement (Sonego et al., 2013).

After systematic guidance by professional interventionists and interaction with other parents, parents can receive psychological support, and they can gradually change their words and actions, which can have a positive effect on the whole family atmosphere and form a virtuous circle (Schertz & Odom, 2007; Sonego et al., 2013). This can effectively reduce anxiety, irritability and the physical symptoms brought about by parenting.

Summary

In summary, early childhood interventions do not only have a positive impact on children’s mental health, but also makes them more sociable in the future, reducing the likelihood of aggression and depression. These early interventions also teach parents involved in the intervention program how to raise children in a scientific manner, reducing the anxiety, depression or helplessness they experience in parenting.

These positive effects could help low and middle-income countries to build a more stablized and developmental enviorment of their society, same time raise more opportunities for children for employment in the future. Early childhood interventions could supporting and building better early childhood education systems is a priority for low and middle-income developing countries. To conclude, early childrenhood intervention bring several advantages for developing countries and has a sigificant positive influence for these countries or ares’ future.

References:

Awartani, M., & Looney, J. (2015). Learning and well-being: An agenda for change. Doha: Qatar Foundation.

Best, J. R. (2010). Effects of physical activity on children’s executive function: Contributions of experimental research on aerobic exercise. Developmental Review, 30(4), 331-351.

Currie, J. (2001a). Early childhood education programs. Journal of Economic perspectives, 15(2), 213-238.

Currie, J. M. (2001b). Early childhood intervention programs: what do we know?. Brookings Institution, Brookings Roundtable on Children.

Dumas, J. E., Lemay, P., & Dauwalder, J. P. (2001). Dynamic analyses of mother–child interactions in functional and dysfunctional dyads: A synergetic approach. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29(4), 317-329.

Engert, V., Joober, R., Meaney, M. J., Hellhammer, D. H., & Pruessner, J. C. (2009). Behavioral response to methylphenidate challenge: influence of early life parental care. Developmental Psychobiology: The Journal of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, 51(5), 408-416.

Galinsky, E. (2006). The economic benefits of high-quality early childhood programs: What makes the difference?. CED.

Hemmeter, M. L., Ostrosky, M., & Fox, L. (2006). Social and emotional foundations for early learning: A conceptual model for intervention. School Psychology Review, 35(4), 583-601.

Kirk, S., Gallagher, J. J., Coleman, M. R., & Anastasiow, N. J. (2011). Educating exceptional children. Cengage Learning.

Liu, D., Chen, X. P., & Yao, X. (2011). From autonomy to creativity: a multilevel investigation of the mediating role of harmonious passion. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(2), 294.

Mensah, F. K., & Kiernan, K. E. (2010). Parents’ mental health and children’s cognitive and social development. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 45(11), 1023-1035.

Noddings, N. (2003). Happiness and education. Cambridge University Press.

Schertz, H. H., & Odom, S. L. (2007). Promoting joint attention in toddlers with autism: A parent-mediated developmental model. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 37(8), 1562-1575.

Sonego, M., Llácer, A., Galán, I., & Simón, F. (2013). The influence of parental education on child mental health in Spain. Quality of Life Research, 22(1), 203-211.

Unicef.cn. (2019). Project overview: early childhood development. Retrieved 14 February 2020, from https://www.unicef.cn/early-childhood-development-factsheet

Many children in low and middle-income families often from countries which do not have adequate resources, for example, poor nutrition, parental presence and lack of health care. As a result, these children’s cognitive development is slower and less able to learn than other children from well-resourced families  (Stipek & Byler, 2004). Researchers argued that the vast majority of low and middle-income countries in a number of United Nations member states, early childhood education is a necessary programme to providing equal educational opportunities for achieve sustainable development aims. This is for promote children from low-and middle-income families to enhance their cognitive ability, thereby improving their future learning ability and social competitiveness (Tobin et al., 2009; Sylva et al., 2003).

The foundation for learning abilities will developing in the early childhood (Anderson et al., 2003). The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization argued that it is necessary to improve early education for children from low and middle-income families in developing countries  (UNESCO, 2007). In order to better ensure the implementation and efficiency of early childhood education programmes, this blog will introduce some relevant programme designs for early education programs for children under 5 years of age in developing countries, based on the past cases provided by the researchers.

What does a high quality early childhood education programme do and why is important?

Early childhood education programs could divide int parent-centred home visit program and a community centre-based group program. Early childhood education programmes provide a range of guidance, including cognitive space, colour, and life relationships, and use play to develop children’s cognitive abilities (Whitebread et al., 2009). What these programs have in common is that they provide professional advice and guidance for children’s development.

The efficiency and quality of educational programmes could improve by supporting early childhood education activities for low and middle-income families (Young & Mundial, 1996). Professionals start with how to interact with children and guide their development, and give guardians the advice they need (Young & Mundial, 1996). In this process, the guardian could understand the importance of early childhood education to their children, give enough care and attention to the child’s physical development and mental health (Cape, 2005). Same time, professionals will also help guardians adjust their psychological state through communication and guidance, so as to ensure that guardians of these low and middle-income families can fill their parenting responsibilities(Cape, 2005; Southall et al, 2000).

A research of early childhood education in China’s Zhejiang Province shows that although some area in China have implemented Early Care and Education Programs (ECEP), the programme did not effectively closed the education gap between urban and rural children (Li, 2016). Researchers aruged that while the governments and volunteers have sensible plans to support early care and education for children in rural areas, teachers who did not have receive a scientific training are less likely to give children enough time to play and interact. Instead, they are more focused on getting them to follow orders and receive knowledge, and it makes the programme have a lower quality in total (Li, 2016; Xiang, 1995). Therefore, it is necessary to let children from low and middle income families accept effective and high-quality ECEP, and project planners must consider more perfect to make it possible to build a high-quality ECEP.

How to implement a high-quality programme?

① Co-op with the local government

The implementation of early childhood education programmes requires enough understanding of the local government’s economic and community policies (Belsky, 2001). Take China as an example, although China’s overall GDP is among the developed countries in the world, due to the large population and uneven economic development, it is difficult to carry out economic activities and educational work in some areas where transportation is not convenient (Guo, 2008; Pang, 2006). Early Childhood Education programmes should be implemented in full cooperation with local governments to understand local economic levels in order to develop appropriate programmes for universal access (Belsky, 2001; Allen, 1988).

For example, in poor mountain areas, community-centred early education programmes are unrealistic. Staff should plan for home visits as the main form of work, accounting for the economic situation and geographical location of low-income households (Li, 2016). The assistance of the government can also be sought during family visits to meet the developmental needs of children by providing them with nutritious food and the necessary clothing. This could have a positive effect on improving the cognitive ability of children from low-income families (Kamerman & Gatenio-Gabel, 2007).

② Training professionals

The implementation of early childhood education programmes requires the education and training of professionals in child development (Palermo et al, 2007). Programme organizers need to ensure that professionals working in society centres or on family visits could guide children and parents to improve the efficiency and quality of early education programs by explaining the meaning of the program to professionals, explaining knowledge about the program, and teaching them how to practice (Goodson & Bernstein, 1997; Palermo et al, 2007).

Programme organizers need to ensure that professionals are patient and keep a careful record of the difficulties faced by the supporting families in the programme (Moss, 2000). These experiences and data will help the programme workers in the future to better improve and develop early childhood education programs and further improve educational standards. The welfare of professionals also requires the project designer to guarantee that the project can be sustained in the long run (Anger et al, 2007).

③ Ensure other aspects could also meet the needs of early childhood development

In order to improve children’s cognitive ability and ensure their future development, the programme designer should not fully focus on how to carry out the programme and train the staff. Some objective conditions will also affect the planning and implementation of the early childhood education programme (Moss, 1996; Moss, 2007).

For example, in a programme based on the society centre programme, is it easy for the guardian of the child to reach the location of the training centre? Is the facility providing early childhood education program services safe enough, such as adequate cleaning, and special protection of the facility? Are parents trained to interact safely with their children in family-visit-centric programs? Are parents too busy to follow up on programmes on time? These external factors are one of the factors that determine the quality of early childhood education programmes.

Conclusion

Although China government’s goal is to ensure the access and quality of early childhood education for children aged 3-6 in China, China still lack of large-scale studies to examined the overall quality of early childhood education and its relationship to the outcomes of Chinese children (Li, 2016). A study of early childhood education in rural Bangladesh also showed that children who received high-quality early childhood care and education programs had better verbal reasoning and vocabulary performance than those in the control group (Abound, 2006). To summary, In middle-income developing countries like China, support for low-income families in early childhood care and education programs should:

(1) Ensure that the project has enough flexibility to adapt to the environment

(2) Working and cooperate with local government and policy

(3) Give material support for low-income families

(4) Carry out the recruitment and training of professionals

(5) Establish proper facilities to meet the requirement of early childhood care and education projects

(6) Improve the enthusiasm of professionals

It is important to note that this does not mean that current early childhood care and education programmes in China do not meet the above planning recommendations. China’s Education Ministry is also working with the international community to incorporate play-based and child-centered approaches, and to develop more programs to attract professionals to participate in early childhood programs (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2001; Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2013). Overall, A high-quality ECEP has a sigificant impact on children development and is sigificant for achieving sustainable development aims from the United Nations and the programme designer could using a systematic theory to guide the ECEP running in a higher quality.

References

Aboud, F. E. (2006). Evaluation of an early childhood preschool program in rural Bangladesh. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21(1), 46-60.

Allen, A. T. (1988). “Let us live with our children”: Kindergarten movements in Germany and the United States, 1840–1914. History of Education Quarterly, 28(1), 23-48.

Anderson, L. M., Shinn, C., Fullilove, M. T., Scrimshaw, S. C., Fielding, J. E., Normand, J., … & Task Force on Community Preventive Services. (2003). The effectiveness of early childhood development programs: A systematic review. American journal of preventive medicine, 24(3), 32-46.

Anger, C., Plünnecke, A., & Tröger, M. (2007). Renditen der Bildung–Investitionen in den frühkindlichen Bereich. Studie im Auftrag der Wissensfabrik–Unternehmer für Deutschland eV Köln. Köln. wissensfabrik-deutschland. de/portal/-streamer.

Belsky, J. (2001). Emanuel Miller Lecture: Developmental risks (still) associated with early child care. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 42(7), 845-859.

Cape, W. (Ed.). (2005). Early Childhood Education. Pearson South Africa.

Goodson, B. D., Layzer, J. I., Pierre, R. G. S., Bernstein, L. S., & Lopez, M. (2000). Effectiveness of a comprehensive, five-year family support program for low-income children and their families: Findings from the Comprehensive Child Development Program. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15(1), 5-39.

Guo, Y.H. (2008). On the causes of rural-urban disparities and the options of developmental target for rural-urban integration, Forum of Southern China, 3 (1), pp. 58-65

Kamerman, S. B., & Gatenio-Gabel, S. (2007). Early childhood education and care in the United States: An overview of the current policy picture. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 1(1), 23-34.

Li, K., Pan, Y., Hu, B., Burchinal, M., De Marco, A., Fan, X., & Qin, J. (2016). Early childhood education quality and child outcomes in China: Evidence from Zhejiang Province. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 36, 427-438.

Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (2001). Kindergarten education guideline (trial). Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/moe/s3327/201001/81984.html 

Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (2013). Number of kindergartens, classes in preschool education. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/moe/s7567/201308/156409.html 

Moss, P. (1996). Defining objectives in early childhood services. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 4(1), 17-31.

Moss, P. (2000). Training of early childhood education and care staff. International Journal of Educational Research, 33(1), 31-53.

Moss, P. (2007). Bringing politics into the nursery: Early childhood education as a democratic practice. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 15(1), 5-20.

Palermo, F., Hanish, L. D., Martin, C. L., Fabes, R. A., & Reiser, M. (2007). Preschoolers’ academic readiness: What role does the teacher–child relationship play?. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 22(4), 407-422.

Pang, Z.Q. (2006). An empirical study on rural-urban disparities within Gansu Province, Social Science Review, 4 (2006), pp. 15-19

Southall, D. P., Burr, S., Smith, R. D., Bull, D. N., Radford, A., Williams, A., & Nicholson, S. (2000). The Child-Friendly Healthcare Initiative (CFHI): Healthcare provision in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Pediatrics, 106(5), 1054-1064.

Stipek, D., & Byler, P. (2004). The early childhood classroom observation measure. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19(3), 375-397.

Sylva, K., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2003). Assessing quality in the early years: Early childhood environment rating scale: Extension (ECERS-E), four curricular subscales. Trentham Books.

Tobin, J., Hsueh, Y., & Karasawa, M. (2009). Preschool in three cultures revisited: China, Japan, and the United States. University of Chicago Press.

UNESCO, (2007). Strong foundations: Early childhood care and educationUNESCO, Paris (2007)

Whitebread, D., Coltman, P., Jameson, H., & Lander, R. (2009). Play, cognition and self-regulation: What exactly are children learning when they learn through play?. Educational and Child Psychology , 26(2), 40.

Xiang, Z.P., (1995). On the issues and evaluation orientation of early childhood education process—based on assessment of early childhood education programs in six provinces of China, Studies in Preschool Education, 2 (1995), pp. 31-35

Young, M. E., & Mundial, B. (1996). Early child development: investing in the future. Washington: World Bank.

Early childhood is an important period of human intelligence development. According to past researches, the nervous system of human is sensitive to the development of information and abilities in early childhood (Pem, 2011). A nice early childhood developmental intervention has a lasting effect on brain development and could effectively improve the level of later development (Heckman, 2011). Development and promotion of early childhood education is one of the best ways to increase economic growth and promote sustainable development of citizens (Kumari et al., 2019).

· The importance of early childhood development

Preliminary estimates from UNICEF’s early child development index (ECDI), based on reports from nearly 100,000 caregivers, shows that 36· 8% of children aged from 3 to 4 in low – and middle-income countries are lack of basic cognitive and social-emotional skills. ECDI scores are positively correlated with the interaction between professionals and children (e.g.: reading, playing, singing, etc.), indicating the importance of professional guidance for children’s development (McCoy et al., 2016).

According to the world bank’s statistics of low-income and middle-income countries in 2020, China, as a developing country, is still in the range of middle-income countries (The World Bank Group, 2020). Thus, specialized health care sectors in low-income and middle-income countries could change the developmental environment of young children in low-income and middle-income families by implementing and supporting a range of early childhood education policies (Elder et al., 2014; Walker et al., 2013). One study showed that after a long-term follow-up, children in low-income countries who received early professional education programme, had a higher cognitive functioning and had lower rates of anxiety, depression or violence than other children who grew up in the same environment when they become adults, and they also had higher personal incomes than the rest of the control group (Gertler et al., 2014; Grantham-McGregor et al., 2007; Walker et al., 2013).

· Early childhood development programme in China

In the United Nations-China early childhood development report (Unicef.cn, 2019), integrated early childhood development services for children from 0 to 3 years old. They have been provided in rural and urban suburbs through a pilot project with the Chinese government, based on community-based management.
These aim servises include:

1. Regular healthy growth and development assessment, consultation and follow-up
2. Nutritional advice and supplement supply
3. Provide parents with suggestions for responsive care and early developmental stimulation from professional supervisors
4. Provide play, learning, and parenting advice to early childhood development centers or community groups
5. Help vulnerable families cope with the risks of child protection, and help them with financial, social security and security issues

· Connect with the sustainable development goals

Children’s brains develop most rapidly in the first three years of life, during which they are highly sensitive to positive stimuli or harmful stresses in the environment (Davies et al., 2002). Nutrition, play games and any other kinds of stimulations could promote children’s cognitive development, while malnutrition and harmful stress such as violence and neglect can have long-lasting negative effects on children’s physical, cognitive and emotional development (Bornstein, 2007). If a child does not reach his or her fully developmental potential before the age of three, it will affect his development throughout his life (Bradley et al., 1989). Countries that invest less in early childhood development also achieve less in health and education (McCoy et al., 2016).

Through the promotion and development of early childhood education programs, China can achieve more sustainable development goals in the future.

These objectives include, but are not limited to:

1. Develop the community construction, improve the security degree and average quality of the community, create a good living environment for more children, protect their mental health, can avoid these children to be subjected to violence, resulting in the overall security level of the community decline (Walker et al., 2013)

2. Professional parenting skills will also increase the quality of education, leading to higher levels of education and employment, and laying the foundation for a more skilled career (Elardo et al., 1975; Grantham-McGregor et al., 2007)

3. Increasing nutrition and providing professional services can enable these children to develop better learning abilities, reduce the gap between rich and poor, and ensure the quality of life and mental health of children from poor families (Elder et al., 2014; Mussell et al., 2004)

What could we do?

The UNICEF also provides different early childhood development intervention services for different situations in the communities which supports:

1. Integrated community early childhood development service.

The United Nations to promote early childhood development team and the all-china women’s federation in 170 communities or villages to carry out the pilot recruitment and training early childhood development of female volunteers (Unicef.cn, 2019). The aim of this is to provide a professional training, in order to effectively develop and manage community services, including running early childhood development of community service centre, form a team game and home visitors to encourage parent-child interaction and parental care (Roggman et al., 2001).

2. Integrate early childhood development into the medical and health service system.

Improve the quality of nurturing care by providing integrated early childhood development services (including health, nutrition, responsive care, early development stimulation and child safety) through health services, home visits and community group activities (Britto et al., 2017). The programme also calls for the training of professional health professionals to ensure professional support for children at risk of stunting, including timely detection, counselling or transfer. Professionals also help families learn scientific parenting methods and techniques (Booth & Booth, 1993).

3. To ensure adequate protection for young children.

The United Nations early childhood development promotion team, in cooperation with the Chinese ministry of civil affairs, provides professional social services to children and families who have difficulty accessing welfare and protection services (Unicef.cn, 2019). Through these efforts, children could be help for avoid the risk of violence at an early age and get a good support from professional programme home visitors (Gomby et al., 1999).

Summary

Family support and consolidation policy programmes include helping caregivers access quality services, skill building and support (Cleveland et al., 2006). The intergenerational parenting policy programme deals with measures to care for and protect the caregiver’s physical and mental well-being, as well as to improve their nurturing abilities (Mussell et al., 2004). The early learning protection policy programme will support both the child and the caregiver to create a nurturing learning environment (Britto et al., 2017).

Overall, investments in early childhood development affects children’s skills in all aspects of life, leading to better job prospects in adulthood and a greater contribution to the health of the countries in which they live. The importance and returns of investing in early childhood development is important for a country’s economic growth and achieving the sustainable development goals.

…China is not only the world’s second largest economy, but also the world’s second most populous country with 270 millions of children. Every child is an opportunity for national progress…Therefore, it is good to see that early childhood development programmes has been incorporated into the Chinese government’s major priorities.

UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake (2017)

References

Britto, P. R., Lye, S. J., Proulx, K., Yousafzai, A. K., Matthews, S. G., Vaivada, T., … & MacMillan, H. (2017). Nurturing care: promoting early childhood development. The Lancet, 389(10064), 91-102.

Booth, T., & Booth, W. (1993). Parenting with learning difficulties: Lessons for practitioners. British Journal of Social Work, 23(5), 459-480.

Bornstein, M. H. (2007). Parenting science and practice. Handbook of child psychology, 4

Bradley, R. H., Caldwell, B. M., Rock, S. L., Ramey, C. T., Barnard, K. E., Gray, C., … & Johnson, D. L. (1989). Home environment and cognitive development in the first 3 years of life: A collaborative study involving six sites and three ethnic groups in North America. Developmental psychology, 25(2), 217.

Cleveland, G., Corter, C., Pelletier, J., Colley, S., Bertrand, J., & Jamieson, J. (2006). A review of the state of the field of early childhood learning and development in child care, kindergarten and family support programs. Prepared for the Canadian Council on Learning. Toronto, Canada: Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development, University of Toronto. Retrieved March, 10, 2010.

Davies, P. T., Harold, G. T., Goeke-Morey, M. C., Cummings, E. M., Shelton, K., Rasi, J. A., & Jenkins, J. M. (2002). Child emotional security and interparental conflict. Monographs of the society for research in child development, i-127.

Elardo, R., Bradley, R., & Caldwell, B. M. (1975). The relation of infants’ home environments to mental test performance from six to thirty-six months: A longitudinal analysis. Child development, 71-76.

Elder, J. P., Pequegnat, W., Ahmed, S., Bachman, G., Bullock, M., Carlo, W. A., … & Lombardi, J. (2014). Caregiver behavior change for child survival and development in low-and middle-income countries: An examination of the evidence. Journal of Health Communication, 19(sup1), 25-66.

Gomby, D. S., Culross, P. L., & Behrman, R. E. (1999). Home visiting: Recent program evaluations: Analysis and recommendations. The Future of Children, 4-26.

Grantham-McGregor, S., Cheung, Y. B., Cueto, S., Glewwe, P., Richter, L., Strupp, B., & International Child Development Steering Group. (2007). Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries. The lancet, 369(9555), 60-70.

Heckman, J. J. (2002). Invest in the Very Young.

Kumari, A., Sanijwan, S., & Sheoran, S. (2019). Early childhood and long term development: A systematic review. Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing, 10(1-3), 48-50.

McCoy, D. C., Peet, E. D., Ezzati, M., Danaei, G., Black, M. M., Sudfeld, C. R., … & Fink, G. (2016). Early childhood developmental status in low-and middle-income countries: national, regional, and global prevalence estimates using predictive modeling. PLoS Medicine, 13(6).

Mussell, B., Cardiff, K., & White, J. (2004). The mental health and well-being of Aboriginal children and youth: Guidance for new approaches and services. Children’s Health Policy Centre.

Neshovski, R. (2020). Home – 2019 – United Nations Sustainable Development. Retrieved 14 February 2020, from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/

Pem, D. (2015). Factors affecting early childhood growth and development: golden 1000 days. Adv Practice Nurs, 1(101), 2573-0347.

Roggman, L. A., Boyce, L. K., Cook, G. A., & Jump, V. K. (2001). Inside home visits: A collaborative look at process and quality. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 16(1), 53-71.

The World Bank Group. (2020). World Bank Country and Lending Groups – World Bank Data Help Desk. Retrieved 14 February 2020, from https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bankcountry-and-lending-groups

Unicef.cn. (2019). Project overview: early childhood development. Retrieved 14 February 2020, from https://www.unicef.cn/early-childhood-development-factsheet

Walker, S., & Chang, S. M. (2013). Effectiveness of parent support programmes in enhancing learning in the under-3 age group. Early Child Matt, 120, 45-9.