**The first years of a child's life are an extremely **important and critical period of physical, mental, and psychosocial growth, which goes so fast that the success of the first years to a large extent determines the future of the child. Any abnormalities or deviations if not well intervened well in time, and undetectable to receive a full treatment that is promotive, preventive, and rehabilitative will affect the growth and development of the next child (Sunarwati, 2007).
For Parents, children are a hope in the future. Every parent almost no one denies that a child is an invaluable investment. The success of the child in the future is the pride of his parents. However, the success of a child will not be achieved if not supported also with good education. Therefore, parents should be prepared for education for their children as early as possible.
Talking about education for children, can not be separated from how far the parents in preparing for their children's education from an early age or in the term now called Early Childhood Education or Pre School. Because, with education that is forged from an early age that it will greatly affect the development in the future.
Indeed Early Childhood Education is not the only one that is most important for a child's success in the future. However, it is one of many important things to watch out for. Because the maturity of education from an early age is very influential for the development of children from various aspects of intelligence. In addition to Early Childhood Education, children will become more mature and ready in the face of the school world.
Implementation of education in early childhood in developed countries has been a long time as a form of community-based education (community-based education), but the movement to promote this education in Indonesia has only emerged in recent years. This is based on the importance of early childhood education in preparing the whole Indonesian man (SWC), as well as building the future of Indonesian children and the whole society (MASIS). But so far the reach of early childhood education is still limited in terms of numbers and accessibility. For example, childcare and play groups are still concentrated in cities. Yet when viewed from the level of need for treatment early on, early childhood children in the countryside and from poor families much higher to compensate for the poor intellectual, social, and moral stimuli from families and parents.
The government has demonstrated its political will in building human resources early on. As stated by Megawati (vice president at the time), she opened the First Center Conference of the Servant Period VII Teachers Association of Kindergarten Indonesia. He emphasized the importance of early childhood education in the concept of guidance and development of children connected to the formation of the whole human character. Furthermore, he stated that it can not be denied that the education for children at an early age is the basis for determining the formation of Indonesian human character in the life of the nation.
This statement states that early childhood education is vital to the nation's survival, and needs to be taken seriously by the government. Early childhood education is a strategy of human resource development should be viewed as a central point given the establishment of national character and reliability of human resources is determined how planting since early childhood. The importance of education at this time so often called the golden age (the golden age).
The importance of early childhood education has become an international concern. At the 2000 World Education Forum meeting in Dakar Senegal resulted in six agreements as an educational action framework for all and one of its points is to expand and improve overall care and education of young children, especially for very vulnerable and disadvantaged children, Indonesia as one one member of the forum is bound to implement this commitment.
There are four main considerations of the importance of early childhood education, namely:
(1) preparing qualified human resources,
(2) encouraging the acceleration of economic turnover and low social costs due to the high productivity of work and endurance,
(3) improving equity in people's lives,
(4) helping parents and children.
Early childhood education is not just a function to provide a learning experience to children, but more importantly to optimize brain development. Early childhood education should also include the whole process of psychosocial stimulation and is not limited to the learning process that occurs in educational institutions. That is, early childhood education can take place anywhere and anytime as well as human interactions that occur within the family, peers, and from community relationships that are appropriate to the conditions and development of early childhood.
Indeed Early Childhood Education is not the only one that is most important for a child's success in the future. However, it is one of many important things to watch out for. Because the maturity of education from an early age is very influential for the development of children from various aspects of intelligence. In addition to Early Childhood Education, children will become more mature and ready in the face of the school world.
Early childhood education is the right place for children to face their future. Early childhood education will provide children with preparations for the future, the closest is to face the school.
In early childhood education institutions, children have been taught the basics of how to learn. Surely at an early age, they will learn the foundations. They are taught in a way that they know, through play. But not just playing, but playing directed. Through a directed play, they can learn a lot; how to socialize, problemsolving, negotiation, time management, conflict resolution, being in large / small groups, social obligations, and learning from one to three languages.
ecause through play, children do not feel forced to learn. When playing, the child's brain is in a state of calm. When it is quiet, education can be entered and embedded. Surely how to play can not be origin, must be directed and this requires a power that has the ability and how to teach the right. Classroom should contain fun, enthusiasm, and curiosity. It is not a tug-of-war between students and teachers. It should awaken a child's attitude of passion to learn.
Early children can not think perfectly as adults do. Children of that age should be guided by great ways of thinking, way of digesting, and of reasoning. Unfortunately, some early childhood education institutions in Indonesia have not taught about multiple intelligences. This goes back to the development of the background of his students.
In a good early childhood educational institution, children will learn to be independent, sociable, confident, have great curiosity, can take ideas, develop ideas, go to other schools and be ready to learn, adapt quickly, and passion for learning. Meanwhile, children who do not get enough education at an early age, will be slow to accept something.
Children who do not get the right Early Childhood Education, will be like cars with thermal gasoline. Children with Early Childhood education rightly have full gasoline, the engine will go straight when it is in a new place. While children who do not have an Early Childhood education will have difficulty starting their engines, so be slow. Child education can start since he was 18 months old. Well, that's the reason about the importance of Early Childhood education in building the future of the nation
The Role of Parents in Early Childhood Education
The child is the embodiment of adult love that is ready or not to be a parent. Having a child, ready or not, changes a lot of things in life, and ultimately wants or not we are required to be ready to be parents who must be able to prepare our children in order to live their future well.
Knowing, knowing, understanding the world of children is not something easy. A colorful world, a world of everything beautiful, easy, cheerful, loving, full of wonder and full of surprises. The world that every child should have but whose ownership depends a lot on the role of parents.
Experts agree that the role of parents is so great in helping children to be ready to enter the gates of their lives. This means that when talking about the gates of their lives, it will talk about the prospects of their lives for the next 20-25 years. That was the year that they entered real life. Enter into full independence, entering into their independent world that should be fully released from parents where their life decisions should be done alone. This is where the role of parents is greatly reduced and as parents, at that time we can only see the fruit of our education now, without being able to make any changes.
Why do parents need to improve the intellect of children to prepare them for school? The answer is, the school is currently asking for a high enough requirement of a student's quality. There are still students who enter the elementary school has been introduced with various kinds of lessons and science from an early age. Children have to have high creativity since childhood. Therefore, children who have high intellectuality will be more receptive to all that is taught. They will have high confidence, more adaptability, more readily accept new things, or a child's intellect can be developed long before they enter school. Such conditions place parents as the first and foremost teachers for their children in informal education programs that occur in the family environment.
Parents as one of the parties responsible in education is very big influence on the development of children's education. Kartono (1985; 5) says that:
"Parents must be able to create situation and condition of both physical and psychological, both social and non sosisal adequate to achieve optimal learning achievement. This is because the family has an influence on the success of the students, especially if parents are stimulating, encouraging and guiding the learning activities of their children, thus allowing the child to achieve high learning achievement "
The role of parents also revolves around maintenance activities, upbringing, guidance, and education of children both in terms of spiritual and jasnrani. The more concrete role of parents is as an encouraging motivator, advisors and friends and an example of his son other than as a loving person, who gives love and a place to ask his son.
Guidance is an aid or guidance, which implies that the counselor should provide assistance to the mentored. This situation is well known in the world of education "Tut Wuri Handayani" is that in giving guidance, direction is left to the guided. Guidance should be an aid that can awaken a person to his or her own person (his talents, interests, abilities etc.) so that he can solve the difficulties he faces.
Parental guidance can bring better growth and development to children's learning activities, through guidance parents can direct and know all the difficulties faced by their sons and daughters. According to Druxes (1983-105) said that "Learning achievement is the result of student learning associated with learning objectives", then the child as a student who can be said to succeed if learning objectives can be achieved
The Problem of Early Childhood Education
Entering the XXI century the world of education in Indonesia faces three major challenges. First, as a result of the multi-crisis that hit Indonesia since 1997, education is required to maintain the results of educational development that has been achieved. Second, to anticipate the era of globalization, the world of education is required to prepare qualified human resources, so as to compete in the global job market. Third, in line with the enactment of regional autonomy, it is necessary to make changes and adjustments to the national education system so that it can realize a more democratic education process, taking into account the diversity of potentials, regional needs, learners, and encouraging increased community participation.
The problem is the unpreparedness of the Indonesian nation to face these three challenges, due to the low quality of its human resources. To face the challenge, serious efforts are needed through early education that can lay the foundations of human empowerment in order to have awareness of self potential and can develop it for the needs of self, society and nation so as to form a civil society. Early childhood education is the most basic thing done as early as possible and implemented thoroughly and integrated. Thorough, meaning services provided to children include education, health and nutrition services. Integrated means that services are not only given to young children, but also to families and communities as a whole service.