‘The traditional joint family system provided huge opportunities for children to learn life lessons. However, nuclear families now have nullified all those opportunities. So, its high time we concentrate on early childhood education,’ says Uma Chandrasekar, an early childhood educator.

The 46-year-old Chennaiite is an expert in teaching children below six years. She is the operational head for Podar Jumbo Kids in Tamilnadu - an organization that has been in this field for over 90 years and has been presided by Mahatma Gandhi in 1927.

‘I was a home-maker. I had beautiful childhood days. So, I had a passion for teaching child development. I got introduced to this through my friend and I am very passionate about it,’ begins Uma.

What is kiducation?

It is simply the education from the point of view of a child. Everything including the syllabus, activities and other things are designed based on children’s need. Even the environment where the children studies also involve in this.

Uma says, ‘For any child, early childhood education is important. Because this is when more than 90 percent of brain development takes place. This forms the base of the child’s future. It also psychologically supports a child’s stability. Previously, a child used to grow in a joint family surrounded by relatives, cousins and especially grandparents. The children used to play in the mud, get drenched in rain and other activities that strengthened their immunity. In contrast, in today’s scenario, most of the child’s life is spent on gadgets. They have become their companion, unfortunately.’

She adds, ‘For school education, every child should be treated as a unique child and enable the little ones to identify their talents. Also, it is important to make the children feel positive by enabling a good environment. Only if these three factors work well, the child gets ready to receive the learning. Blindly, enrolling themselves in a school doesn’t help them. Also, the parents have developed unnecessary fear about their child. They do not let them walk, play or any other such physical activities. Even a small child is not able to climb stairs.’

Uma explains, ‘Another important aspect is language and communication development. As far as we have observed, all first child in a family is struggling to talk at the right age. This is due to the lack of communication between parents and children. For a child to talk, parents should keep talking to them and keep trying which is not happening in today’s scenario.’

‘The last is the personal, social and emotional development. The child should be advised to share things, have patience over waiting for something, accepting the views and more. All these are received well only through the early childhood education,’ she adds.

‘Moreover, the children who go through early childhood education happily accepts the school environment. Parents should understand education is not about teaching alphabets, numbers or anything else, but it is the values they learn out of it,’ she concludes.

FUTURE PLANS

‘I am planning to do a doctorate in early childhood education. Currently, I am also conducting workshops across many places for children as well as parents. So, in future I will be working for raising awareness among the parents in our region about early childhood education,’ says Uma.

We hope the interview must have enlightened your point of view about early childhood education. Before getting confused on how to pursue your child’s education, log on to Sulekha, and get connected to the best pre-school education institutes.