Nine Core Principles

• Every child needs a safe, secure, loving and stimulating environment in which to grow and healthy societies stem from healthy, happy children.
• Relationship, belonging and contribution are essential elements of healthy human development.
• Every child has the human right to be fully supported in the development of his or her unique natural potential.
• Children are naturally creative and should be free to express their creativity in ways that have personal meaning and relevance.
• Children should be protected from all inappropriate developmental pressures that might damage their unique and natural attitudes and dispositions.
• Playfulness is a vital characteristic of childhood and an essential factor in the development of risk-taking and creativity. The role of free play needs to be acknowledged and its centrality in children's lives protected.
• Children need a deep connection with nature, and they should be able to learn from nature and not merely about it.
• Intrinsic motivation and personal meaning-making are essential aspects of natural development.
• Early childhood is the single most important development period of human life and should, therefore, be treated as a separate and vital phase in its own right.

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