Introduction

Born on 5^th November 1967 as the second child in my family, I had all the privileges a child could have in a typical upper middle class Sri Lankan family. Up until my eighth birthday, in 1975, we resided at my paternal ancestral family home. My mother, Anula Welikanne, a primary teacher, had her third baby, my younger brother, just eleven months after my birth. His arrival resulted in placing me in the hands of a nanny, her primary duty being caring and nurturing me alongside my busy mother. They supported me continuously in the development of milestones, communication skills and learning; I can still remember the interest and devotion everyone in my extended family had on the children. Interactions with many caring adults promote communication and social relationships according to Arthur, Beecher, Death, and Dockett (2012). Children’s sense of being is strongly founded in the families and cultures in which they are brought up (Early Childhood Australia, 2012). According Singh ( 2014) “babies and toddlers raised in supportive and caring home environments tend, to do better on standardized tests later on, and they were more likely to attain higher degrees as adults” (Singh, 2014). Research confirms that “families are a fundamental influence on children’s development, with children themselves playing an important role in shaping the ecology of their family” (Bowes & Warburton, 2013, p. 95). Further, adults’ support in children’s development and learning was commended by Vygotsky ( 1934), suggesting that adults’ support in children’s interests benefit children enormously from the knowledge and conceptual tools handed down to them (Crain, 2000).

Developmental Milestones

I was named Shiyamali Neelika Sandagiri Pathiraja. My mother says I had achieved developmental milestones according to the normal standards. I was considered a normal healthy baby. As a baby I have weighed 3.3 kg at birth. Within the first few days I had begun building connections by having eye contact with my mother and nanny. I have had defining cries according to the needs; crying mostly when I wanted a feed or sleep. I could suck milk when nursed and slept soundly when I was full.  By three months my family witnessed me trying to raise my head when placed on the stomach and was rolling over by the age of four months. I was able to sit without help by the seventh month and started to hold on to furniture and stand by the age of eleven months. I have begun to babble around this time and started to take the first step when I was 12 months; developed from basic motor skills on to more complex integration of sensory, motor and cognitive development.  I have begun to talk age appropriately by the age of 15 months and was a fluent speaker of two languages by 2 and half years. According to Vygotsky (1935) “Children master most speech spontaneously, with hardly any direct teaching (Crain, 2000).

My parents spoke to me and my siblings in two languages simultaneously. In Sinhalese (mother tongue) and English; second language. According to research, “maintenance of the home language has an important role in family cohesion which makes strong connections between language, culture and identities” (Jones Diaz & Harvey, 2002/2007). Further, according to Maria Montessori (1972) “Children who in the age of infancy, that is, below seven years simultaneously learn several languages can perceive and reproduce all the characteristics modulations of accent and pronunciation of the different languages” (Montessori, 1972, p. 246). Therefore, my parents’ approach in speaking to us in two languages simultaneously has influenced us to speak both languages fluently and communicate effectively. This has allowed us to learn and comprehend in two diverse languages. Benefits of being able to speak in one’s mother tongue is further explained by Yoshida (2008). According to her, “Home language is a child’s connection to the love, nurturing, and lessons learned in the family context. Strengthening the bond between parent and child requires continual support of the home language. There are also cognitive advantages to building the home language while the child learns English. Research demonstrates that children who grow up bilingual have advanced self-regulation skills and advanced metalinguistic skills. Furthermore, growing up with two languages helps a child better understand how language works in general because she has to be more conscious of the features and rules of each of her languages. This understanding makes children more successful as language learners ( Nemeth  &  Erdosi, 2012).

According to my mother, at the age of two and a half, I was a fluent speaker of two languages, communicating effectively and coherently. She says I was unstoppable, until I was wrongly diagnosed sick with Diphtheria by our family doctor. Diphtheria was considered as a highly infectious disease and my mother who was pregnant with my youngest sibling and was nursing my infant brother was asked to keep away from me for a period of three weeks until three test results confirmed my condition. According to her, I was isolated in a hospital ward away from all who I knew. This isolation had affected my speech; I had completely given up speaking to anyone since. I had begun to withdraw from my family. This condition had been diagnosed as selective mutism; result of being separated from the immediate family. Selective Mutism is a childhood anxiety disorder with a persistent failure (Selective Mutism Foundation, 1991).

However, when results came negative I was ruled out of having Diphtheria I was brought back home, completely muted and withdrawn. My family’s support and consistent effort resulted in me gaining my lost self –esteem and confidence. The trauma my family and I went through is explained by Bowes and Warburton, (2012) when they suggest “anything that effects one member of the family will also affect the others”. (Bowes & Warburton, Family as the Primary Context of Children's Development, 2013, p. 99)

Influences in my life

Living in an extended family, had numerous positive influences in my overall learning and development. If the learning environment has the right amount of support from adults, the learner can gain maturity to solve the problems and the learner is said to be “learning in the ZPD”.  While my mother was my principle influence, my father, grandfather and grandmothers positively supported and influenced me. My mother’s influence drove me to explore the diversity of culture, heritage, background of my family, my religion and what connected us and what was considered different from the others around us. My mother pursued her higher studies; completed her post graduate studies in English Literature amidst bringing us up. I can still recall clearly, how my mother took to her books after settling us in our beds and bed time stories. I gained the appetite to read and collect books from a very early stage by observing her attitude towards the books; perezhivanie. It is suggested that it is possible to increase our insight into the complex dynamics between cognition, emotions, imagination and creativity which are encapsulated in the concept of perezhivanie, or “lived experiences” (Ferholt, 2009). My perseverance (reading for my second Bachelor of Education degree) in furthering my studies in the field I enjoy, proves this point. My father was a teacher who loved English literature; who wrote and composed. My ability in writing poems and appreciating literature seems to be a direct result of engaging in writing and appreciating literature with my father at tender age of six; perezhivanie. He was my second best influence in life. Arthur et al., (2012) claim that family and community experiences include everyday activities will develop children’s own configurations of knowledge, narratives and interests. My extended family being an educated and well- resourced has supported my cognitive, psychological, emotional and overall development.

As mentioned the adults in my immediate society celebrated, acknowledged and treated us as active participants of the social network in the family and immediate community; this has given me confidence to continue a life- style that is culturally competent upon arriving in Australia after thirty six years. Hedges (2010) suggests that ‘from engagement in social and cultural activity, experiences are internalized by children, transformed through their participation, and represented and re-created as opportunities arise to do so” (Hedges, 2010). Furthermore, according to research it shows that “children’s earliest experiences may stick with them for years and continue to influence them well into adulthood” ( Nemeth  &  Erdosi, 2012). Furthermore, sociocultural theory suggests that “Children’s learning is situated in the social and cultural contexts of their families and communities (Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett, & Farmer, 2012). Beside my successful early childhood /primary schooling, my childhood, was full of pleasant memories and varied events, activities, accomplishments, associations and lives that influenced my childhood.

The experiences I had as a ‘celebrated child’ with my large extended family, definitely sharpened my knowledge about literacy, numeracy and the ability to live successfully in a diverse community. According to Rogoff (2003) “Learning through intent participation… [is] a powerful form of learning’. He confirms that such learning often occurs eagerly in authentic cultural situations, suggesting learners have some intrinsic interest in the activities they engage in (Hedges, 2010).

Apart from the family, the Buddhist monks and temples influenced me. Buddhist monks have always been present in many special events in my life; assisted me to become a compassionate, helpful, disciplined and honest child. They related stories that described Buddha’s childhood and gave examples of compassionate lives. Moreover, when I was admitted to a Catholic school, I started to learn and respect Catholic teachings too; my first teachers were nuns who seemed different, socially and culturally to the monks I had known. I was socially competent. “From birth children experience living and learning with others in a range of communities. Having a positive sense of identity […] responsive relationships strengthens children’s interest and skills in being and becoming” (Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2009, p. 25). It is also understood that “ goals parents have for the socialization of their children depend on their backgrounds and  culture (Gonzalez -Mena, 2008). These diverse experiences and positive relationships built from my early childhood helped me to engage positively with peers and educators, building lasting relationships.

Occasionally, we were placed on strict discipline by my family when required. Those have been through discussions and reasoning and not through punishment. This approach has made us reflect on our behaviour and consequences rather than feeling guilty. This parental approach is appraised by Skinner (1953). He commended the parents adhering to the approach of combining extinction for undesirable behaviour with positive reinforcement for desirable behaviour (Crain, 2000, p. 184). Further, Bowes and Warburton (2012) suggest that parents who set limits for their children’s behaviour and follow on through rules showing warmth has significant positive impact, Baumrind approach.    

Meantime, my parents respected our freedom of expression, creativity and imagination; they allowed us to spend our time to learn from each other and the natural surroundings while giving us a variety of experiences directly engaging with us, such as reading books aloud, taking us on trips, modelling behaviours, taking decisions together where necessary and discussing good and bad and solving problems together; diverse experiences. They seemed to have known that childhood was different from adulthood. According to Rousseau (1762) “Childhood has its own ways of seeing, thinking, and feeling” (Crain, 2000). Moreover, this can be explained as family functioning; relating to family’s ability to interact, communicate, make decisions, solve problems and maintain relationships (Bowes & Warburton, 2013, p. 99). Being in an extended family has been resourceful. We learned to play and socialise within the family who supported play, providing us with time, space and resources that come from the home background. We often used items from home consisting of blackboards, paper, pencils, shoes and handbags. Our role play took us to imaginary situations; playing school being the favourite; our agency. Therefore, I strongly believe the play and learning occurred to us were based on the immediate society we lived in. Research suggests that learning through play is a cultural – historical occurrence rather than a biological one (Fleer, 2013). Children learn in the context of their families and community. Further, according to Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework, “throughout the early years, children acquire knowledge and skills that form the foundations of their later achievement. They learn how to learn and they develop dispositions for learning and a sense of agency, where children are able to make decisions and choices, to influence events and to have an impact on their world (State of Victoria, 2011, p. 25).

My grandmothers have influenced me towards liking nature; fauna and flora. I can still remember, both my grandmothers taking us on walks in the vast back yards introducing fauna and flora that we came across. According to Vygotsky (1986) “children’s informal daily interactions in families and communities provide a bank of everyday or spontaneous experiences to draw on later to develop more formal scientific conceptual knowledge" (Hedges, 2010). This was evident when I sat for my advanced Level examinations scoring excellent marks for Botany and Zoology. Research show that children’s early experiences of nature have a positive and lasting effect (Fleer, 2013, p. 4). My grandfather who was a leading personality in our village and school principal has influenced me into leadership positions through- out my childhood and adulthood.

However, within the same extended family, one can see that no two children growing up in the same way. It can be explained as individuality or child’s genetic inheritance, temperament or personality. Children’s characteristics and behaviours may change according to different layers of social systems they are exposed to according to Bronfenbrenner (Bowes & Warburton, Family as the Primary Context of Children's Development, 2013, p. 7).

In conclusion, I strongly feel that learning and development in early years is a process which is unique to each individual child. A majority of children may achieve their milestones as expected whilst a minority achieving later in life. However, learning and development go hand in hand. While achieving milestones has a significant connections to children's overall growth and well- being its significance can be different from family to family or community to community; children’s development and learning is not an individual strength rather a collective effort of supportive adults their children and environment they are born to. My childhood paints a vivid picture to prove this point.

 

References:

 Nemeth , K., &  Erdosi, V. (2012, September). Enhancing Practice with nfants and Toddlers from Diverse Language and Cultural Backgrounds. Retrieved from Developmentally Appropriate Practice for Infants and Toddler: http://www.nwaea.k12.ia.us/

Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S. (2012). Programming and Planning in Early Childhood Settings (5 ed.). South Melbourne: Cengage Learning Australia.

Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2009). Belonging, being & becoming The early years learning framework for Australia. Barton, ACT 2600: Commonwealth of Australia.

Bowes, J., & Warburton, W. (2013). Family as the Primary Context of Children's Development. In J. Bowes, R. Grace, & K. Hodge, Children Families and Communities Contexts and Consequences. Victoria: Oxford University Press.

Bowes, Jennifer; Grace, Rebekah; Hodge, Kerry. (2012). Children, Families and Communities Contexts and Consequences. Victoria: Oxford University Press.

Crain, W. (2000). Theories of Developemnt Concepts and Applications. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Early Childhood Australia. (2012). Beyond Murals and Flagpoles. Every Child.

Ferholt, B. (2009). University of California San Diego .

Fleer, M. (2013). Play in the Early years. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Gonzalez -Mena, J. (2008). Diversity in Early Care and Education. New York: McGraw Hill.

Hedges, H. (2010). Whose goals and interests? In L. Brooker, & S. Edwards, Engaging Play (pp. 26-38). Berkshire: McGrow-Hill.

Montessori, M. (1972). The Discovery of the Child. Fides Publishers, Inc.

Selective Mutism Foundation. (1991). What is Selective Mutism? Retrieved from Selective Mutism Foundation: http://www.selectivemutismfoundation.org/

Singh, M. (2014, December 19). Which Early Childhood Experiences Shape Adult Life? Retrieved from PUBLIC MEDIA FOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA - Mindhift / How we will learn: http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/12/which-early-childhood-experiences-shape-adult-life/

State of Victoria. (2011). Victorian Early Years Learing and Developemnt Framework. Melbourne: Published by Early Childhood Strategy Division Department of Education and Early Childhood Developement Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.