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Care for early childhood development

  • Page updated onMarch 22, 2025
Child development care
Photo: Bruno Abarca

Pregnancy and the first three years of a child's life is the period of child development when they are most vulnerable to infections, hunger, and malnutrition (both acute and chronic). In this regard, the main protection they have comes from the people who care for them: their mothers, fathers, and families. However, in humanitarian emergencies and as a result of insecurity, displacement, and lack of access to essential services, caregivers lose the support systems they need to assist them.

A multi-sectoral framework for child care and development

With the necessary resources, environments and opportunities, this period is an important window of opportunity for child development. However, in order to develop their full physical and cognitive potential, the care these children receive needs to cover at least five dimensions: 

  • Attentive and loving care. Children also need their mothers, fathers and other caregivers to be present and interact with them in a loving way. This helps them establish an important emotional and affectionate bond.
  • Safety and security. A safe environment is not only one in which there is food and water security or decent living conditions. It is also one in which children are protected from abuse, physical punishment and neglect.
  • Learning opportunities. How children interact with their environment determines how they learn to relate, play, move, imagine and create.
  • Health. Children need sufficient activity and sleep, attention to their needs, and their health situation. In addition, they must have access to preventive and curative health services and live in adequate hygienic conditions that minimize the risks of infection.
  • Nutrition. The nutritional status of these children will largely depend on a proper diet tailored to their age and in response to their needs. From birth to six months of age, this diet should ideally consist of exclusive breastfeeding. After six months, it requires continued breastfeeding and the gradual introduction of nutritious and safe complementary foods. In case of risk of malnutrition in the first months of life, or suffering from acute malnutrition, they will also need early diagnosis and access to treatment.
Nurturing care
WHO, UNICEF and World Bank, 2018.

Caring for caregivers

Guaranteeing child development is not possible without special attention to the well-being and care of caregivers. They often go through very adverse situations in the absence of social support and essential services, and they have significant needs that must also be addressed. These include aspects related to their emotional well-being, mental health, and even safety (for example, in cases of gender-based violence).

The support provided to these individuals, in addition to covering their basic needs and protection, must also contribute to their ability and confidence to face difficult times and solve problems. Therefore, it should be done with a gender perspective. This allows for challenging social norms and established roles that place the burden of caregiving on mothers and women. Additionally, it helps promote the shared responsibility of men.

Support interventions for parenting in humanitarian contexts allow for education on child development and the importance of adequate nutrition, health, play, hygiene, and education. Caregivers may also need information on behavioral changes throughout growth, techniques for attentive caregiving that respond to the expressed needs of children, interpersonal communication skills, and conflict and problem resolution (without applying physical punishment or using violence). Sometimes they can even be supported with guidance on addressing trauma and loss, or with advice on relaxation techniques and stress management. Some of these interventions can be provided through home visits, group meetings with caregivers in the community, the creation of mutual support networks, or by strengthening existing social services.

Child-friendly spaces

Some of the key elements for child development in emergencies can be worked from child-friendly spaces (child friendly spaces). In these inclusive safe spaces for children of different ages are offered the possibility to meet and play with other children in an age-appropriate way. To this end, they always have the presence of professionals who accompany the children. In addition, they allow them to do educational activities that help to recover a relative perception of "normality" in the midst of adversity. These spaces also help in the child protection and violence, they allow for the development of activities to prevent abuse, exploitation and psychosocial support to develop self-esteem or emotional control, and serve as support for caregivers. 

These spaces play an especially important role in the first months of the crisis and displacement, at least until schools and day care centers are functioning again. Sometimes they can also continue to complement existing services in the community after the emergency with other activities. However, there are large differences in the quality and adaptation of these initiatives, which do not always demonstrate results.

Some of these spaces can be adapted to meet the specific needs of younger children, including infants, and their mothers (or other caregivers). Furthermore, this intervention model allows for addressing the protection of breastfeeding and feeding during these critical early stages of extreme vulnerability.

Hunger and malnutrition

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