Why Childhood Is the Most Important Phase of Life?

We as human beings are continuously evolving and growing in physical as well as mental aspects. There is visible growth in our muscles, height and facial features right from our childhood. They are overt. Yet, there is an internal side to us as well that keeps growing along with our physical self, the emotional self. The side where we learn how to make decisions, understand care and love and learn to deal with mistakes and grasp who we are as a person. As in the case of physical self, this side too begins its evolvement right from the childhood. Here, we try to understand what are those aspects which begins to engrave in a person during childhood which makes the phase of childhood extremely important.

Sense Of Self: The journey of understanding of who we are begin right from our childhood. It occurs through our interactions with our parents, friends, school and the environment around us. These aspects and the relationship that we form to the same help us to have a sense of who we are as a person. We consciously and unconsciously take in every important details from these sources and make them a part of ourselves. Thus, we begin to shape our reality in accordance to these vital aspects. 

Values: Along with the beginning lessons of who we are, we also begin with our lessons on our values in our childhood. The understanding of what is right and what is wrong and how to know the difference between the both etc will begin right here in the childhood. These are again the result of the interaction with the world around us. The things we consciously and unconsciously take in for ourselves. Along with understanding the values we also learn how to approach what is right and what is wrong. We slowly begin to understand the treatment required for the right values and the wrong ones, for e.g. a child may understand that honesty is good and it is something that he should develop as it makes his parents happy, which becomes the child’s emotional reward. At the same time he will also realise that dishonesty is bad as it makes his parents angry and disappointed, which the child does not want to do. Thus, making sure this value is not developed. 

Relationships: The relationship with parents, friends, relatives and surrounding environment begin right at this stage. Thus, making it crucial as it can define further how well it turns out to be. The empathy received in the relationships will help the child to hold on to them and make them a part of who he is as a person. The care and concern seen here too help the child to realise that there are people he can depend on when he needs to and give him/her the very important realization that he/she is not alone. However, if the same empathy is lacking the child will find it difficult to make sense of these relationships and will begin to look at them in a more hostile manner, which eventually will effect his/her personality. The support that he needs at the time if it is lacking will make the child turn to himself or herself and create an impression for themselves that he/she is alone and need to face the world the same way.

Exploration Of Strengths: Childhood is also the phase where we begin to understand what we are capable of even if it is not in a wholesome manner. We begin to explore, which leads to coming across things that grabs our attention and enough time spent on them will make them our strengths. It is important that the process of exploration is done in this phase as only then we begin to understand what our mind wants and where it wants to spend its time on. The interests developed here will go on to become a thing of beauty in its own right for the child if they are encouraged and developed in the right manner. A child who knows his/her strengths will do much more better as a adult than a child who is not given the opportunity to explore and understand his/her strengths. 

Preview Of Adulthood: Adulthood is not a separate phase of an individual, it is the continuation of a childhood. What is learned and developed in the childhood will only continue in the adulthood for the individual rather than the person becoming something else altogether. Thus, we can see that if the values, relationships and other aspects discussed here before are not developed in a right and effective manner for the child it will continue to hinder even when the child becomes an adult. If the care and concern that the child needed was not given, he/she will continue to look for the same as an adult. The words used to describe the person as a child will continue to his definition of who he is as an adult, be the words be positive or negative. Research says that most of the issues today faced by the population of adults are due to the childhood negative experiences. 

By looking at the above reasons we can see how important childhood is and how it can define a person in all aspects of his life right from his understanding of self to the world around him/her. Thus, childhood needs to be given its right importance and treated in a way with a reminder to self about what it can do to an individual