Your parenting partner: from fertility to grade 1

TODDLER

Better education begins long before Grade 1

By Kerri-Lee Schneider, Discipline Leader at STADIO

Much of the discussion regarding how to improve education in South Africa focuses on what happens in the school classroom, from how to approach literacy and numeracy, to teacher development, infrastructure and what happens inside the classroom. While these are all important factors, learning starts long before a child walks through a school gate.

The earliest years of a child's life lay important foundations for language, confidence, relationships, emotional wellbeing and future learning. The first 1 000 days are a particularly critical period of development, while the brain continues to develop rapidly throughout the first five years.

Ready to learn

This raises an important question, says Kerri-Lee Schneider, Discipline Leader at STADIO: “How do we ready children, not for school, but for learning?”

Schneider believes the answer must include the people caring for and educating children during those formative years.

Early childhood development enables future educational success

The shift towards prioritising Early Childhood Development (ECD) is already happening at policy level. In April 2022, responsibility for ECD moved from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education.

The move reflects a growing recognition that early childhood plays an important part of a child's educational journey. This is captured in the term Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), which deliberately brings care and education together.

As Schneider explains, young children need safe environments, appropriate nutrition and care for their physical and emotional wellbeing. But beyond that, they also need opportunities to explore, communicate, develop relationships and make sense of the world around them.

“We need to move away from the idea that working with very young children is simply babysitting,” says Schneider. “These are the years in which we are building minds and laying foundations for lifelong learning.”

Development knowledge

That doesn't mean recreating a Grade 1 classroom for two- and three-year-olds. Quite the opposite. Intentional early learning is grounded in an understanding of how young children actually develop.

Play, for example, is not a break from learning. It is one of the primary ways children learn.

“Play is the business of childhood,” says Schneider.

Professionalisation must widen access

Many of the people already working with young children in South Africa have developed considerable knowledge through experience, sometimes supported by short courses or workplace training, without having had access to a recognised higher education qualification.

If South Africa wants to professionalise ECCE, it needs pathways that allow these practitioners to build on what they already know.

Schneider says that starting those pathways only at degree level risks excluding people who may have years of practical experience but do not yet meet the entry requirements for an NQF Level 7 qualification.

It’s this gap that STADIO hopes to address with its new Higher Certificate in Early Childhood Care and Education, with its first intake planned for Semester 1, 2027.

The one-year, NQF Level 5 qualification will initially be offered through distance learning, creating an accessible entry point into higher education for people interested in building a career in the sector. This includes existing ECD practitioners, childminders and caregivers who want to formalise and deepen their knowledge, as well as school leavers interested in entering the field.

“Professionalisation shouldn't mean disregarding the experience people already have,” says Schneider. “There are practitioners who have spent years caring for and working with young children. We need to recognise that experience and create opportunities for them to deepen their knowledge and develop further.”

Bringing knowledge and practice together

The qualification takes a holistic view of children's development from birth, covering areas including health, safety and wellbeing; nutrition and care; child growth and development; language and foundational literacies; social and emotional development; and intentional, age-appropriate learning.

Students will also complete six weeks of practical learning in registered early childhood settings. The first two weeks focus primarily on observation and understanding the ECCE environment, while a four-week block later in the programme gives students opportunities to facilitate early learning experiences themselves.

The programme has been informed by South African frameworks including the National Curriculum Framework for Children from Birth to Four and the National Early Learning and Development Standards. STADIO's relationships with international institutions working in ECCE, such as Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education in Norway, Pacific Oaks College in the United States and Brock University in Canada, have also provided exposure to international thinking and practice in the field

Importantly, the Higher Certificate is intended as an entry point rather than an end point. For some students, it may provide a foundation from which to pursue further studies, subject to the relevant admission requirements.

"There are people already doing this work, with years of practical knowledge and experience. This qualification creates an accessible opportunity for them to build on that foundation, deepen their knowledge and take the next step in their professional development,” says Schneider.

Schneider believes that investing in the people who help children build their earliest education foundations should not be viewed as a cost to society, but as a long-term investment that benefits individuals, families, communities and future generations.

If South Africa wants to improve educational outcomes in Grade 1 and beyond, that investment cannot begin only at the school gate. It must also begin with the people helping children learn, grow and develop in the years before they reach it.

Toys are everywhere
…if you know where to look

Save yourself a lot of money by using everyday items as playthings.

It’s wonderful to spoil your child with the shiniest, noisiest toy on the market, but the reality is that very few toys really keep babies and toddlers busy for long. They are explorers and curious little monkeys and love to get their hands on something new. Try to look at the world through your child’s eyes, and find value in all kinds of household objects. You’ll be surprised to realise what you can use to make toys, and these toys can truly be of great sensory value for your child. Sensory play is an important part of your child’s learning process, says Wietske Boon, a play therapist from Centurion. “Children learn best when all their senses are involved in the process. Sensory play is also the way in which children make contact with and collect information about their environment. In this way, a child also gets to know himself – his likes and dislikes in textures, smells and sounds – which is also important for emotional development.”

Play therapist Wietske Boon offers this advice:

SIGHT

Make a mobile by hanging a variety of objects from a hanger. (0-1 years)
Paint two empty toilet rolls, and stick them together to make binoculars. Cover one end with coloured cellophane as “lenses”. Suddenly things look different in a different colour.
Stick a picture onto a sturdy piece of cardboard, cut into big blocks, and use it as a puzzle.
Cut pictures from magazines, and take turns to tell stories about these. (3+ years)

HEARING

Pour sand, pebbles or grains of rice in an empty bottle, and seal it well. (0-2 years)
Collect tins of various sizes, and let your child enjoy the noise each tin makes when he hits it. Tins of various sizes will obviously make different sounds (1+ year)

TOUCH

Use feathers to tickle each other under the feet, on the hands and on the cheeks (0-2 years)
Put a variety of objects in a bag or pillowcase. Ask your child to put his hands in the bag and guess what’s in there (2+ years)
Make special time to rub some cream into his body, and have a good chat at the same time.

SMELL

Put spices or vanilla essence into small bottles or flasks, and let them guess what’s in the bottle. Be careful of very strong smells. (2+ years)

OTHERS

Build a box house. Paint the box, and cut out a door and windows.
Make masks from paper plates. Cut out eyes, a mouth and a nose, colour them in, and fix with elastic bands.
Build a tower from plastic containers. How high can you go?

Drowning:
The tragedy you can prevent

Practical drowning prevention toolboxes for children and adults

Monday, 20 October 2025: Every moment near water holds the risk of an emergency, warns an emergency medicine specialist, urging families and individuals to be constantly vigilant as temperatures rise and the hazard of drowning intensifies.

According to ChildSafe SA, a leading child safety organisation, South Africa is globally listed among the top 45 countries with a drowning rate of 4.06 per 100,000 population. This silent epidemic demands immediate attention.

“Your child is never safe around water. Vigilance and a proactive approach are crucial to prevent drowning, particularly in summer months when the danger of drowning increases,” says Professor Feroza Motara, head of emergency medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand and emergency medical specialist practising at Netcare Linksfield Hospital.

“Drowning is silent, and can occur within seconds, without any warning signs. The risk is present around any water, including baths, swimming pools, and even small inflatable pools. Children must be watched every moment they are near water and this task must never be delegated to others, including older children or distracted adults, as disaster can strike instantly. Every lapse in supervision is a potential tragedy; vigilance cannot be compromised,” she warns.

Professor Motara points out that even a glance at your phone, replying to a message, or scrolling through social media while supervising children near water can lead to disaster. “It is particularly dangerous to consume alcohol or socialise when supervising children near water. Just one lapse in attention may result in serious, life-threatening consequences, especially when more than one small child is present. Every distraction creates a risk. Never allow anything to divert your focus when children are in or near water,” she cautions.

Practical child water safety toolbox:

NEVER leave children unattended, inside and outside.
Supervision must be undistracted—avoid phones, reading, or long conversations while children are in or near water.
Keep alert to everyday risks, including toilets, bathtubs, water features, fish tanks, pet water bowls and buckets. Children can drown wherever there is access to water, and a baby can drown in as little as 2.5cm of water.
Stay within arm’s length of all children around water.
Always know where your children are. Parents must ensure they or a responsible adult is always watching children near a pool, jacuzzi or natural body of water. Don’t assume a child meant to be inside has not got out somehow.
Learn life-saving skills, including the basics of swimming and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Enclose ponds, pools and water storage: Install a four-sided isolation fence at least 1.2m high with a self-closing and self-latching gate to control access to bodies of water.
Focus on supervision. Never consume alcohol or let yourself be distracted by work, phone calls, social media, or anything else that could divert your attention while watching children.
Replace the pool safety cover immediately after swimming.
Don’t rely on armbands, floating toys, inner tubes, or other devices to keep children safe.
Teach children to swim, but never leave them unsupervised around water.
Consider installing water alarms, such as a floating pool alarm or external security beams, to complement the precautions of fencing and supervision.
Beware of drains. Children must be kept away from pool or jacuzzi drains as hair or limbs could become trapped in the suction.
Know who to call in an emergency. Be prepared for any medical emergency with Netcare 911 on 082 911, and download the Netcare app, which includes Netcare 911 emergency call and geolocation functions, as well as a 60-second callback option.

Mande Toubkin, Netcare’s general manager of emergency and trauma, transplant and CSI, encourages everyone, especially parents and child carers, to learn basic first aid and CPR. While proper supervision and preventive steps should eliminate the need for emergency intervention, knowing CPR can mean the difference between life and death in a drowning situation. These lifesaving skills are indispensable; their true value is only realised during a crisis, when quick action can save a child’s life.

“Complacency is a major risk factor when we are having fun, and adults can also benefit from a refresher on injury and drowning prevention around water,” she points out.

A safety refresher for adults

Never swim alone.
Never swim in the sea, dams or rivers at night.
Avoid swimming while under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants.
When near water, children must always be supervised by a responsible adult who is not distracted.
At the beach, only swim in designated areas with lifeguards and don’t swim far out.
Remember, swimming in the sea is very different to swimming in a pool or dam, even for experienced swimmers.
Only dive into a body of water if you can see what is below the surface, and always test the depth first.

Basic CPR technique

Shout for help.
Loudly call the person’s name. If the person is not showing signs of life and not breathing, start hands-on CPR
Ensure someone has called the emergency services, such as Netcare 911 on 082 911 or via the Netcare app.
The Netcare 911 call centre will assist you to do CPR.
Do not put the person in a car and rush them to hospital as valuable time is wasted not doing CPR.
With the patient on a firm, flat surface, kneel next to the person.
For adult patients, interlace the fingers and, using both hands, pump hard and fast in the centre of the chest. For adults, hands-only CPR may be used.
For child patients, place one hand in the centre of the chest and begin single-handed chest compressions, hard and fast. After 30 compressions, tilt the head back, and give two rescue breaths into the child’s mouth of one second each.
For babies, use only two fingers for chest compressions, depressing the chest approximately 3.5cm. After 30 compressions, tilt the head back and give two rescue breaths of one second each, allowing the previous breath of air to escape before giving the next.
Repeat chest compressions, allowing the chest to rise between each compression.
Continue hands-only CPR until help arrives or the patient becomes responsive or shows signs of life, such as breathing or coughing.

Even if you have never done CPR before, Netcare 911’s national emergency operations centre (EOC) can provide live coaching via secure video link to callers until help arrives. The caller is connected with the Netcare 911 emergency care providers, enabling them to see and hear each other.

A qualified healthcare provider, a registered nurse or paramedic, demonstrates the relevant CPR technique for an adult, child or an infant on an appropriately sized mannequin, as a case manager coaches the caller to copy their actions to perform CPR correctly on the patient at the scene.

It's a numbers game

Numerical literacy is a skill your toddler will need throughout life.
Here’s how to get started.

If you always thought that mathematics only revolved around numbers, think again. There are a myriad concepts that make up maths that can help to prepare your toddler for school-related mathematics. They are fairly basic once you know what they are. Pre-arithmetic readiness includes memory and sequencing abilities, the ability to understand shape, form and volume. It requires the child’s understanding of size, position, length and quantity.

STAGES OF LEARNING

Italian doctor and educator Maria Montessori found that learning about numbers requires three stages:

STAGE #1: THE ABILITY TO SORT OBJECTS INTO SETS

Before your child can identify, for example, three cars as being part of the same set, he needs to understand why they belong together. To do this, he needs to recognise the properties that cars have in common, like four wheels, a particular shape, and so on.

STAGE #2: THE ABILITY TO MATCH OR PAIR ONE SET OF OBJECTS WITH ANOTHER SET

There is one plastic animal in one set and one shell in another set. Give your child another animal and another shell, and see if he can match them together with the first set into pairs, so he will have two animals and two shells.

STAGE #3: THE ABILITY TO COMPARE

A child needs to understand that two pebbles are fewer than three pebbles, and that four are greater than three. Once he can do this, he can put things in an order. Understanding position and sequence is essential to understanding numbers and mathematics.

4 FUN IDEAS WITH NUMBERS

Simple form boards or jigsaw puzzles give the experience of different shapes fitting together.
Matching socks or other objects can teach your child the notion of one-to-one correspondence.
Sorting is central to maths. Sort and match as you tidy toys away, return cups to saucers, pack spoons and safe cutlery in the correct places, and help sort out the washing. Mom’s clothes, Baby’s clothes, Dad’s clothes, or shirts, trousers and so on.
Learning to cook can provide an early introduction to both maths and science, as your child will begin to understand weights and measurements, the effects of beating ingredients, mixing solids and liquids and heating mixtures.

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