Four in 10 preschoolers in South Africa are developmentally on track, which means they can do basic tasks expected for their age. The situation is worse for 4-year-olds not in any learning programme with 82% falling behind, or far behind.
This is the picture presented by the Thrive by Five Index 2024: South Africa’s largest survey of preschoolers’ development status, conducted every three years. The index assesses developmental domains across gross and fine motor skills, emergent numeracy, literacy and executive functioning (the brain skills children use to stay focused, follow rules and manage emotion). These key areas of early development are indicators of school readiness, providing a reliable predictor of achievement in primary school.
But the index is not all despair. It provides signposts of where effort pays off. Where there are books in the home, children score higher. Where parents are engaged in reading, singing, telling stories, children do better. Where fathers take part, even modestly, the developmental gains are clearer. In short: when families, early childhood development (ECD) practitioners, and the state pull in the same direction, the outcomes shift.
The index provides us with data to make informed decisions as caregivers, ECD practitioners, principals, NGOs, funders, government leaders, policy makers and activists. It tells us that child development and wellbeing require a whole-of-society approach. This is why it’s critical for Cabinet to approve the National Strategy to Accelerate Action for Children (NSAAC) — a shared vision for our children’s future.
The strategy identifies 10 priorities designed to fast-track change in the lives of children and teenagers like strengthening the ability of parents and caregivers to look after their children, improving child nutrition and growing children’s brain power through early learning.
Starting early means starting in the home
If more than 85% of a child’s brain is developed before the age of three, then our efforts to support a child’s development and early learning, must begin at home. This is why the index recommends widening support for caregivers by building their knowledge (about developmental milestones in particular), finding ways to expand book access in low-income homes and involving fathers in children’s development.
As a society, we can support the practice of responsive caregiving by elevating the importance of playing with, reading to, and interacting with young children at home using low-cost, homemade materials and simple techniques such as book-sharing, an interactive activity between parent and child using picture books to spark discussion.
Identifying sensory disabilities from a young age is also important, specifically newborn hearing screening which enables caregivers to modify communication techniques with their babies, a critical foundation for learning and socio-emotional development. But a key component is awareness, which is why we need different sectors to do their part to help, including the department of health, civil society, academic institutions and private companies. When a caregiver knows, a caregiver can act.
Books and male caregivers
The index calls for expanding access to age-appropriate books and involving male caregivers. This reframes books as springboards for imagination and connection, not just quiet time. However, men often drop out of parenting programmes, so how they’re designed matters. Flexible schedules, male role models, and activities that highlight fun and bonding over strict learning goals help sustain involvement. Community gatherings, sports-club partnerships, and father-child challenges can also normalise men’s participation in young children’s lives. Scaling efforts require access to picture books, even those without words. These let men with low literacy improvise, dramatise, and share stories without relying on text, reducing barriers to participation. Affordable, culturally relevant wordless books embedded in male-focused programmes could transform early learning and strengthen father-child engagement.
We need to move together – with purpose, quickly! Both our lack of urgency and clarity regarding pathways to improvement cannot continue. The Index outlines a pattern of inequity in early learning programmes such that a child entering Grade R already developmentally behind, is likely to remain behind. Every child deserves to reach their full potential. A child who thrives early sets us all up for a stronger, more equal country.
Let us not wait until 2027 (the next Thrive by 5 Index) to find ourselves asking why the numbers refuse to budge. Let us make the time between now and then the time of concerted effort, with books in every home, drastically reduced numbers of new cases of nutritional stunting, support for every parent, and quality early learning.
Kwanda Ndoda is the project lead of Umncedi at DGMT, and Noxolo Gqada is the strategy lead for the Accelerator for Children and Teens.
This op-ed was originally published by City Press on 05 October 2025. Read it here.
