‘The seeds of my success were sown in early childhood’

                    Today is Universal Children’s Day                          

The role of parents is important in a child’s life and through simple actions such as play and stimulation, they can positively shape their child’s development
 

Many Sri Lankans were not eating the right, nutritionally rich and diverse foods needed to fuel their brain and body development

As the world marks the anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child on World Children’s Day, we must ensure every child in Sri Lanka has the same opportunity for success.

Two months ago, my life somewhat changed. Unbeknownst to me at the time, an old university colleague from Princeton did a talk at an event in Washington DC that was widely reported in the media, in which my name was kindly mentioned. What made this notable was that this old colleague was Jeff Bezos - Founder, Chairman and CEO of Amazon. He kindly remembered me as “the smartest guy at Princeton”.  

While I certainly don’t believe that I was the ‘smartest guy’ at my university, I do believe that several factors, especially in my early childhood, enabled me, a young man from Sri Lanka, to attend one of the world’s best universities. Now that I have children myself, I believe that certain simple yet vital ‘early childhood development’ factors where critical in enabling me to reach my ‘full potential’, and that they can and must be replicated for every young person in Sri Lanka.   

Equally important is for parents to answer the endless stream of questions from their young ones to the best of their ability, to encourage imagination and curiosity

So, what were these factors? First and foremost, it was the love of my parents and the simple actions they undertook to nurture me and my creativity. Second, my early education and the stimulation it provided, and finally, good nutrition.  

I believe my parents, who were not rich but educated, were ahead of their time. My mother who was a teacher, and father, who was an accountant, enabled me to express myself, nurtured my creativity and stimulated my thinking. One of my earliest memories is being free to ‘draw’ all over the house, including on the walls, with pencils and crayons, to the shock of my aunts and uncles. Each month, after my mother encouraged me to count her modest salary to help me with numbers, she would buy me simple short story books for us to read together, or creative toys like Meccano, that I would spend hours on each day, building and re-building. Later in childhood my parents would encourage me to play chess, learn musical instruments, do puzzles and would nurture learning opportunities. This freedom of expression, which I replicated with my own children, and the nurturing and stimulating environment that was facilitated by my parents at home was critical in my early years, and is critical to every child’s early development. The role of parents is important in a child’s life and through simple actions such as play and stimulation, they can positively shape their child’s development. Equally important is for parents to answer the endless stream of questions from their young ones to the best of their ability, to encourage imagination and curiosity.   

Secondly, my parents paid for and enrolled me in ‘Montessori’ pre-school from an early age. This was rare at the time, as most children aged three were at home with their grandparents, but at pre-school I would interact with other children, play, and learn by doing, as opposed to the rote learning often favoured in Sri Lanka. This undoubtedly had a major impact on me and my development especially when I progressed to primary school and beyond. In fact, Jeff Bezos too has often talked about how formative his own pre-school and Montessori experience was in propelling him to become the highly successful person he is, now the wealthiest person alive. I was fortunate to have this opportunity, yet at present, less than 50 per cent of children in Sri Lanka attend quality pre-schools. I believe this must change.  

The final crucial factor was nutrition. I grew up in the 1970s, and while we always had enough food to eat, when I compare our diets then, with my children who grew up in the USA, it is clear that many Sri Lankans were not eating the right, nutritionally rich and diverse foods needed to fuel their brain and body development. Our rice-based diet with limited protein and other nutrients were not sufficient for optimal development. Good nutrition is especially important in the early years, when a child’s brain is growing so rapidly. I urge parents to ensure that their children get the nutritious food they need, especially in the first 5 years of life. Even a nutritious breakfast snack that could be provided by the school system to children could go a long way in addressing this need. This is practiced in developed countries such as the USA, and even in the schools my children attended.  

When the founder of Amazon mentioned me in his talk, I know many Sri Lankans were proud that a fellow countryman was being championed by one of the world’s leading business people. But my message is simple. I was able to reach my potential and compete on equal terms with the worlds brightest because of the steps taken by my parents in the early years of my life, ensuring that I was stimulated, had access to nutritious food, and had the chance to benefit from early learning opportunities at pre-school.  

As the world marks the anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on World Children’s Day 20th November, I am joining forces with UNICEF to call on all Sri Lankans, parents and law makers to ensure that all of our children have the best start in life, by prioritizing early childhood development.   

One way you can do this is by visiting www.unicef.lk/crc and adding your name to UNICEF’s campaign to ensure that all children under five years in Sri Lanka have the opportunity to access quality pre-school, just like me and my friend Jeff Bezos. Who knows, with the right start in life, the next Jeff Bezos could very well be from Sri Lanka. And that would be something for all Sri Lankans to be proud of.