Quiz: How the first 1,000 days write a child’s future

If you have children or grandchildren, you know that you’ll do everything you can to give them the best start in life. But the children and mothers we work with live in extreme poverty, often living on the streets, without access to basics like nutritious food.

For children like Thema, their future is written before they are even born. Take the quiz to discover Thema’s story, and why her first 1,000 days are so important to the rest of her life:

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Three-year-old Thema spends all day at the market with her mother, Ashante. Ashante carries her on her back in the scorching heat. Thema cries a lot. She struggles to speak and doesn’t like to be around other children.

1. Why is social interaction vital for a child’s development?(Required)

It's how children develop communication skills

It's how children understand social cues

It builds children's self-esteem

All of the above

Ashante and Thema live in a makeshift structure near the market. It has no running water or other amenities. When they do finally return home from the market, Ashante is so tired she can’t play with Thema or read her a bedtime story.

2. What percentage of households with a child in Ghana have three or more children’s books?(Required)

7%

37%

67%

Ashante notices that Thema is a lot smaller than other children she sees around the market. She is worried that she isn’t growing properly. At the market Ashante earns enough for just one meal per day, so it’s difficult for Thema to get the nutrition she needs to be strong and healthy. In Africa, one-third of children experience stunted growth, where their bodies and brains don’t grow to their full potential.

3. What is the primary cause of stunting?(Required)

Malnutrition

Poor sanitation and a lack of hygeine

A lack of interaction with parents

Ashante works long hours with very little pay. “I can’t get much business because people don’t want someone who carries a child,” she told us. She wants Thema to go to nursery. But she earns less than £1 per day, enough for just one meal each. Sending Thema to nursery just isn’t possible.

4. What percentage of children in Ghana attend early childhood education?(Required)

10%

71%

95%

Despite Ghana’s progress, children like Thema are missing out. Nurseries and formal early childhood education centres aren’t free. And without this support, Thema might not pass the compulsory exam to go to primary school. But a little could go a long way towards changing the lives of children like Thema.

5. How much extra would need to be spent per child to roll our universal nurturing and stimulation programmes?(Required)

£15

£7

15 pence

Name

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