"Parenting, the process of raising children and providing them with protection and care in order to ensure their healthy development into adulthood. Parenting is at its greatest level of intensity during infancy and toddlerhood. In the first few years of life, children depend entirely on their caregivers, who determine most of the children’s experiences. Caregivers decide, for example, whether an infant is held, talked to, or ignored and in what kinds of activities the toddler will engage. Because of the enormous flexibility of the human nervous system during the early years, this period offers unparalleled opportunities for learning and development, which are best supported by an enriched but not pressured environment. Further, although some theorists argue that later experiences can completely alter children’s developmental pathways, many assert that the experiences over the first few years of life lay the foundation on which the rest of development builds. Like compounding interest, the investment that warm, engaged, and sensitive caregivers make during the early years pays huge dividends toward a secure, self-confident child."

Yogita Parihar

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