Aastha Patel and Vibha Iyer invite us to see childhood differently, not through milestones or outcomes, but through moments of curiosity, imagination, and wonder. Drawing from everyday observations of young children, they show how play reveals the questions children are asking, the ideas they are exploring, and the learning already unfolding around us. They argue that observation is more than a skill. It is an act of care. By slowing down, setting aside our assumptions, and truly noticing children, we can place childhood back at the centre of how we nurture, support, and celebrate the first eight years.
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