Why is Holistic Development Important for a Child [7 Reasons]

In today’s ever-changing world, all the techniques of teaching and learning are also changing. Earlier the whole focus was on a child learning and remembering things but nowadays the emphasis is more on the physical, mental, emotional and psychological well being and health of the children.

This new-age thought process that talks about and encourages the physical, emotional and mental growth of a child is known as the holistic development. It tries to assist the children in developing all their gross and fine motor skills and building their mental strengths.

In this article, let us study about why holistic development is important for a child and what are its advantages and how it benefits the child.

What is Holistic Development of a Child?

The holistic development of a child encourages interest and promotes better interaction and social abilities. This thought process supports the child to make a connection by using their creative and analytical abilities. It also helps in developing the emotional, communal, and social growth.

Five Aspects of Holistic Development

The five aspects of the holistic development refer to the aspects that enable a child to live a happy and fulfilled life. These aspects, when fulfilled, ensure that the child is fit in all aspects and ways.

1. Physical health: The physical health of a child is the easiest to check and evaluate. If a child is physically healthy then he will be highly active and alert. It can be achieved by eating a healthy and balanced diet and having a sound sleep.
2. Emotional health: The emotional health of a child is the most important. It is so because if his emotional health is affected then his physical health will also suffer. Staying happy and in a positive and lively environment is a good way to boost the child’s emotional health.
3. Social health: The social health of a child is related with the people around whom he spends most of his time during the day. These people are, generally, his parents, family members, friends, teachers and classmates. If the people around him are happy then the child would also, inevitably be happy.
4. Spiritual health: The spiritual health has no relation with the religion of the child. It, rather, concentrates on the child being able to bond with his inner self and think about doing things for greater good of the people and environment around him.
5. Mental health: The final aspect of the holistic development is the mental health of the child. It is inter-linked with the emotional and physical health of the child and is somewhat based on the cognitive abilities of a child and how they have an effect on the working of the child’s brain.

Why is Holistic Development Important for a Child? [7 Big Reasons]

Holistic development is quite important for a child. It emphasizes on the all round development of a child, particularly during his early years. It infuses curiosity and helps them develop better communication and social skills.

The holistic development helps a child by allowing him to develop strong inner values and confidence.  It concentrates on the physical well being of the child, by including healthy diet and proper sleep in his daily schedule as we all know that nutrition plays a very important role in the all round development of a child.

Let us understand the seven reasons about why holistic development is quite important for a child.

1. Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is quite important for a child’s holistic development. It leads him to have a better understanding of himself as he realizes his self importance and, through it, is able to identify himself as unique and an independent individual.

2. Spatial Awareness

It helps the child become more aware of his surroundings; about where he is his location and his own personal space. The holistic development’s most important part is the child becoming aware of his breathing space and being able to sustain happily in it.

3. Language Skills

A child cannot grow from all aspects if he is unable to learn a language to express him and understand the part of the others. It is his mandatory part of growing up, which stimulates his sound and speech patterns. The holistic pattern of teaching a child langauge is starting with small words, and gradually moving on to complex sentences.

4. Creative Skills

A kid’s holistic development is quite crucial for him as it helps him enhance his creative ability and skills. Through these skills, the child is able to better express his thoughts and ideas in a creative and innovative manner. Him coming up with new ideas and being able to express themselves is very important for the child’s progress.

5. Imagination

Being able to imagine is important for the holistic progress because it connects the brain and body. It even encourages the development of critical thinking and high levels of reasoning.

He is able to imagine things on his own and also be able to describe them and inform the others. It also assists in building the mental and psychological abilities of the child.

6. Logical Skills

Logically understand things and analysing them is very important for the holistic development of a child. It helps him analyse the information being given to him and think logically. Clear and logical thinking makes a child sharp and smart and as a result he is better able to handle things independently.

7. Socio-emotional Skills

The holistic development of a child helps him in developing his socio-emotional skills. These skills help the child in understanding and expressing his emotions and also build his confidence regarding everything around him.

So, these are some of the reasons that tell us why the holistic development is important for a child. Now, let us learn about why the procedure of holistic learning has become more important than ever.

Why Holistic Learning Has Become More Important Than Ever?

Holistic development is an all-inclusive approach in the process of learning. Its major aim is to create and enhance the different aspects or abilities of the human mind. This type of educational and learning system aims at the progress of the scholarly abilities only.

The holistic growth of a child is based on the development of his physical, intellectual, cognitive, mental or emotional abilities. It also helps improve his social interaction skills with the people around him.

Also Read: Ethical Dilemmas in Children and Teenagers because of The Internet

Role of Parents in Holistic Development of a Child

Parents are like strong pillars for a child. They act as strong support for their children and try to nurture and support them in every phase of their life. They also have a say in contributing significantly to the child’s holistic development.

Parents help the children in building their focus and take care of their emotional needs as their wholesome and holistic development is of paramount importance to them. This is so because the parents want to save their children from facing any difficulties or challenges in the future.

Final Thoughts

So, now we know that the holistic development of a child is very important for us all. It is an important approach that talks about the importance of the physical, emotional and psychological well-being of the children, specifically in their early age.

The teachers of the early childhood education also use this holistic approach in order to join the children’s progress with their natural surroundings. It helps them build strong relationships by the process of active learning and positive social behaviour.