During our Health and Wellbeing lecture, we were learning about relationships and how important relationships are for children. As our TDT after the lecture, we were asked to watch two videos. One on children’s brain development by Doctor Suzanne Zeedyk and another on the importance of the child’s early years by John Carochan.

In Suzanne Zeedyk’s video, she talks about how human babies are different to other mammals’ babies as they are born prematurely because of the size of their heads. Due to this, this means that their brains aren’t as fully developed as other mammals when born. The brain then develops as the child starts to grow outside of the womb and can be influenced by their surroundings and relationships and therefore means that the first four years of a child’s life are the most important and could influence their future.

In John Carnochan’s video, he talks about how important the first 4 years of a child’s life are and how they can have an impact on their future. In both videos, they talk about how if a child grows up in a threatening environment then the child focused on protecting themselves from the threatening environment and can hinder their development. John Carnochan talks about how children need consistency in their lives, especially during their early years. Children may not always get this consistency or safe environment from their home lives so it is very important for teachers to create this in the classroom so the children can feel safe and comfortable in at least one part of their lives.

After watching these videos, it made me more aware of how much a child’s life at home could influence their future if they don’t have consistency. It made me realise that when I am teaching the classroom, I have to try and create a safe and welcoming environment for the children in case they don’t have a safe place at home so at least they will feel safe in my classroom and will want to come to school.