Family

Children develop remarkably during the first years of their lives. Such development stems from interaction between biological processes and the environment. Young children’s experience—first in their families, then in the broader living environment such as childcare services or the neighbourhood—and learning from birth influence all facets of their development. Such experience and learning are important for health and well-being during early childhood. They also underpin a young person’s and then an adult’s subsequent development. Adults, communities and public authorities have a responsibility to offer young children quality living and learning environments in which all children develop their full potential.

This section proposes documents produced by the Ministère de la Famille or its partners that concern childhood development. The documents are classified under four headings:

• overall development and areas of development: this section comprises documents concerning the overall development process and the physical and motor, social, affective, cognitive and language facets of development;
• young children and play: the documents examine the crucial role of play in a child’s development;
• children in childcare services: this section presents an array of documents to guide intervention in childcare services in order to promote the overall development of young children and their development in specific areas;
• the transition to school: the documents in this section emphasize children’s development when they start school and the importance of a successful school transition.