{"id":1265,"date":"2026-08-13T10:09:56","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T10:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/?p=1265"},"modified":"2026-08-13T10:09:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T10:09:57","slug":"every-child-wants-to-feel-that-they-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/news\/every-child-wants-to-feel-that-they-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"Every Child Wants to Feel That They Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hans Jacob Sundby (Norway), founder of the Dibber early childhood education network (CreaKids in Latvia)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, we talk a great deal about the knowledge and skills children will need in the future. We discuss technology, artificial intelligence and education reforms, yet we spend far less time thinking about what truly shapes a person. What matters most is not how much a child learns by a certain age, but whether they grow up in an environment where they feel safe, seen and accepted. It is this sense of security and belonging that gives children the confidence to learn, the courage to try and the resilience to keep going after their first setback.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In education, the child matters more than the facilities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have had the opportunity to visit hundreds of preschools around the world, and people often assume that the first things I notice are the premises, equipment or learning materials. But that is not the case. The first thing I always observe is the children. Are they smiling? Do they feel safe enough to approach a visitor? Are they curious about what is happening around them? Children are remarkably good at showing us what kind of environment the adults around them have created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would I want if I were a child?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From time to time, every adult should ask themselves a very simple question: if I were a child right now, would I want to be in this environment? Would I feel safe here? Would I find it interesting? Would I feel heard? Looking at the world from a child\u2019s perspective can completely change the way we see everyday situations. When we begin to observe children more closely \u2013 where they like to play, what captures their attention and which places they return to again and again \u2013 they often show us what kind of environment they truly need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Self-belief develops gradually<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children are not born believing that there are things they cannot do. They are born curious and eager to explore the world. Their belief in themselves develops gradually \u2013 through the attitudes of the adults around them, the words they hear every day and the way we respond to their attempts to learn and try new things. If a child feels accepted even when something does not work out, they will be willing to try again. But if they become afraid of making mistakes, they may gradually begin to believe that it is safer not to try at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resilience \u2013 learning not to give up<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is precisely why resilience, or the ability to keep going, is so important. We often think of resilience as a personality trait that a person either has or does not have. In reality, it is a skill that can be developed. One of the first steps is learning to manage our emotions. All of us experience moments when anger, tiredness or disappointment pushes us towards an impulsive reaction. In such situations, sometimes it is enough to take a step back and count to three. Those few seconds can prevent us from saying or doing something we may later regret. The more often we practise this, the more naturally it becomes a habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone needs a greater purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also believe that every person needs a greater sense of purpose. It helps us keep going when our emotions are telling us to take the easier path. This applies to adults and children alike. If a child knows that they are valuable not simply because of what they achieve, but because of who they are, it becomes much easier to get back up after a setback and keep going. This is not something that can be taught through lectures. It develops through relationships with the people who are present in a child\u2019s life every day. Throughout my work, I have experienced many moments that remind me just how powerful seemingly simple things can be. One boy kept a small note with kind words he had received at preschool under his pillow. To an adult, it might seem like nothing more than a little piece of paper, but to that child it had become something deeply meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moments like these remind us that children remember not so much what we taught them, but how we made them feel. We should never forget that behind every system, every teaching method and every development plan, there is an individual child. That is the most important foundation not only for successful education, but also for a happy childhood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hans Jacob Sundby (Norway), founder of the Dibber early childhood education network (CreaKids in Latvia) Today, we talk a great…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1216,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,25],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1265"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1265"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1266,"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1265\/revisions\/1266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happykids.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}