J is for Journey
The most important journey of all
There are many journeys in life, some physical and some personal, some insignificant and some life-changing. Perhaps the most important is a child’s journey through their earliest years. This is an epic journey of discovery where they find out about their world and the wonders inherent in their ever-changing environment. It is also a journey of self-discovery, exploring and building the person they are going to be for the rest of their lives. Then it is a journey of mastery where they lay the foundations for every skill, ability and the knowledge they need to thrive and learn. Finally, one of the most magical journeys of all is the child’s journey into what makes us uniquely human, the journey into imagination and creativity.
Like all journeys, the road ahead is best shared with a companion. For our youngest children, the early years practitioner is that companion.
The perfect holiday
Think about a journey you might make, maybe a holiday, maybe to some beautiful unspoilt island, warm and breathtakingly beautiful. Now think about your travelling companion. If they share your sense of wonder, your sense of joy, support you when you need help and cheer you on when you challenge yourself, think how much more amazing and special that holiday would be? Now imagine your companion constantly complains at every inconvenience. Maybe they are critical of the food or complaining about the weather. Maybe they become overly stressed or are wary of trying anything new. Your experience of that journey would be significantly diminished.
Now imagine that your companion has the power to shape the fundamental structure of your brain. Permanently and for the rest of your life. This is exactly the power that early years practitioners have on the neurological development of their children. This means the travelling companion in early years is not merely a positive or negative influence on your journey but critically important for your entire well-being and development. Modern neuroscience tells us that brain growth is experiential. This means that early childhood experiences grow and shape the brain more than any other factor. Positive travelling companions on a child’s early years journey shape the brain in radically different ways to negative ones.
A road trip
Now imagine you go on a long journey to attend a training course. The training itself may be dull and unstimulating but think how much more you enjoy the journey if you have a vibrant, joyful companion to share the time with. Sometimes the journey itself is just as important as the destination, and with a supportive and nurturing travelling companion, the journey becomes so rewarding that the destination can become irrelevant. Also, think how much shorter and easier that journey feels when it is shared, and how arduous and long when it is not.
Journey before destination
This is the essence of early years. It may be many years before the child can understand complex mathematical concepts, but if the journey to mathematical mastery is one of curiosity, awe and wonder, shared with a supportive and joyful travelling companion then that journey will be shorter and easier. If, however, the journey is without a supportive travelling companion it will be longer and more arduous and can become so difficult that some children will not even reach their destination.
In early years the journey is everything. It is not the outcome that drives children but their enjoyment of the journey itself. In developing speech, for instance, a trusty travelling companion is not an optional extra but a fundamental building block. We know for a fact that children, without positive adults sharing their journey into language, will likely experience some form of language delay. When you unpick issues like the overall decline in children’s vocabulary, you can instantly see what is missing. Bedtime stories, songs, nursery rhymes and pretty much all shared joyful uses of language with a trusted adult. In short, these children do not have a positive travelling companion on their speech and language journey.
The road goes ever on and on
As a dyslexic child aged seven, my son had a reading age equivalent to five-year-old but his vocabulary was that of a 16 year old. Consequently, reading scheme books did not stimulate him. In a bid to rekindle his love of stories I decided to read “The Hobbit” to him. The Hobbit is all about an incredible journey with interesting and magical companions. The problem with reading the book is that there are 13 dwarves on the journey who each need their own voice. I can only reliably do three accents and each of them sound vaguely Welsh. What followed was probably the worst ever reading of the Hobbit, with each of the dwarves coming from Cardiff. None of this mattered because I read the book, a book I loved as a child, with absolute joy. No matter how inexpert the reading, my son and I went on that journey together, treading the long road towards the Lonely Mountain and the dragon who lived within. To say that this book transformed him would be an understatement. He loved the book and for the first time started taking the book to bed with him. It kindled a love of fantasy books that has stayed with him to this day. I will never forget when I turned the final page, he looked at me, his eyes shining with the light of adventure, and said, “Daddy, did Tolkien write any more books you could read to me?” I took one look at his joyful little face and said, “No sorry! He never wrote another book!”
Of course, I didn’t say that, I read “The Lord of the Rings” to him, which is still one of my treasured memories of being a father. It took two years but was an incredible journey shared with the most amazing travelling companion, my son.
And whither then? I cannot say
So many people choose to be disinterested, unsupportive and unresponsive or even negative and undermining. Let’s choose to be a different sort of travelling companion. Let’s choose to be joyful, supportive, nurturing and fun. Let’s choose to be inquisitive, mischievous, vibrant and playful. The early years practitioner fundamentally shapes the child’s brain and shares day by day, week by week, the most important journey of all time.
Further reading
Ben Kingston-Hughes is a multi-award-winning trainer, author and managing director of Inspired Children, a company working with vulnerable children. For more details of his books and Inspirational Training go to www.inspiredchildren.org.uk.
His books are, A Very Unusual Journey into Play and Why Children need Joy available now from all major bookstores. His Author page at Amazon is https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B09MV3FMWX
(*Headings from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.)
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About the Author
Ben Kingston-Hughes is an international speaker, author, and award-winning trainer. Managing Director of Inspired Children, he has over 34 years of experience working with vulnerable children. He blends humour, neuroscience, and practical experiences in his training. His acclaimed books include "A Very Unusual Journey into Play" and "Why Children Need Joy.
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