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PARENTS want the very best for their children. That is never in question. But wanting the best and knowing what the best is are two different things, and in the early years of a child’s life, the impact of that difference can have consequences that are difficult to undo.
In my work with families across Pakistan, I encounter the same hesitation. Structured early learning, particularly before the age of four, is seen as optional. The child is young, the thinking goes; they are better off at home, they’ll catch up when school begins. I understand this view. I also know, after four decades in this field, that it is one of the more consequential misunderstandings parents can carry into their child’s early years.
By the age of five, most of a child’s brain development has already taken place. This is a well established neurobiological fact. Neural connections are forming at a pace that will never again be replicated across one’s lifespan. They form the blueprint for language, emotional regulation, attention, memory, and social understanding. And they do not simply develop on their own but are built through experience. A child’s developing brain is less like a clock that ticks forward on its own, and more like a garden. Leave it to chance and something will grow, but it may not be what the child needs.
