The First 20 Years

"Empowering Parents and Children for Lifelong Success"

The First 20 Years program is designed to guide both parents and children through the most pivotal stages of development.
In the early years, parents provide the nurturing foundation, guiding their child through infancy and toddlerhood when they are completely dependent.
As children grow, they gradually transition from helplessness to a take-charge attitude, learning essential life skills and taking on more responsibility. By adolescence, they begin to make decisions for themselves, becoming more independent and preparing for adulthood.
Through each stage—from infancy to young adulthood—The First 20 Years fosters a dynamic partnership, helping parents support their child’s growth while allowing the child to step into their role as an independent, confident individual.
This program ensures that both parents and children are equipped to handle challenges, build resilience, and embrace the journey toward a thriving future

Introduction

Skills development

Welcome friends. I am Anthony, and I am thrilled to offer you this series of videos containing the latest and most practical information on raising your children.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I was born in Morocco, raised in France, and spent much of my life in the United States. Now I live in Colombia, South America.

Sadly, I never got much guidance from my parents when I was a child. Instead, I was raised mainly by housemaids. Being the only child motivated me to learn new skills, like playing tennis and learning new languages. It also gave me the courage to explore my environment and enjoy nature.

But, my life was never a bed of roses. Soon after settling in California, my mother took her own life because she felt uprooted from her natural environment of family and friends in Paris.This devastating loss compelled me to find purpose in my life.

First, I went to college to study math, and then I got out of my comfort zone by joining the Army, which helped me mature and become more independent and pragmatic.

Next, I fell in love with my first wife. She was a good woman, but she had no financial sense, which became a big problem that led me to bankruptcy. However, I learned to recognize the type of woman compatible with MY WAY OF THINKING.

These events made me aware of the harsh reality of life and gave me a clear perception of my sitjuation. I was lucky to find a Colombian woman who was not only compatible with my personality but also was one of the main factors that gave me a positive direction in my life.

These circumstances changed me for the better. The following videos result from my “hard knock” story. So, let me describe each one of them.

See the video version on the right

I have divided this project into 6 stages of life: pregnancy, infancy, toddlerhood, childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood.
Each stage is commprised of 5 themesÑ physical development, cognitive development, social/emotional, hazards, and health nutrition. Let me describe each one of them in some details.
We must keep in mind that some children take longer to reach a milestone than others. It all depends on several factors like culture, environment, genetics.

Physical development
The physical stage includes three aspects: body growth & proportion, brain development and motor coordination

Body growth & proportion
The first principle is cephalo-caudal where groth processds from head to toe.In particular, the head becomes smaller in relation to the rest of the body.
The second principle is the proximo-distal principle where body groth proceeds from the center of the body outward. Humans have different body shapes. Furthermore, female shapes are different from makle shapes.

Motor coordination
It is the coordinated motion of several body parts that perform a movement.

Physical brain
The most important components of the physical brain are: the left hemisphere, the seat of the analytical mind and speech. The right hemisphere which controls emotions, creativityk, and spatial awareness. The brain size increases slightly between 5 and 25 years old.

The brain stem is connected to the spinal chord: it is responsible for automatic functions like breathing and digestion

Finally, our cerebellum controls our reflexes and muscle coordination
The ability of mind and brain to work together in order to learn about reality. The ability to solve problems is simply called intelligence.

Cognitive development
The Mind
Let us talk about the two components of our brain is the physical brain and the mind. Think of the mind as an iceberg. Less than 10% is over water, which corresponds to the conscious mind. The other 90% is submerged and corresponds to the subconscious
The conscious mind controls reasoning, perception, shorter memory, and willpower.

The subconscious, on the other hand , is the seat of dreams, imagination, creativity, involuntary bodily functions, addictions, emotions, long-term memory and basic instincts.It involves mental processes such as thinking, listening, observing, learning, understanding, remembering, mand memorizing. It also includes moral maturation to distinguish good and bad behavior.

Social & emotional Development
Includes interactivity with family and friends
sense of belonging to a group
Peer attachment
romance
self-esteem

Nutrition
Drink plenty of water
Fill your stomach to 85%
Eat less red meat and more fish and fowl
Eat slowly
Eat more fruits and veggies

Our welbeing depends to a great extent on a healthy and balanced nutrition including not only food lbut also supplements such as
vitamins:
vitamins are nutrients enhancing body’s health
Some vitamins are water soluble meaning they cannot be stored in the body
Others are fat soluble because they accumulate in the body
minerals
Herbs: used to flavor food and tea.
Protein powder helps build muscles and repair tissues

Hazards
Life can be an obstacle course full of unpredictable dangers that a human being has to confron successfully kije:
Accidents, crime, robbery, intoxication, suicide, drowning, disease, radiation.each stage of a youngperson’s life has its ownpeculiar dietary needs.In subsequent moduleswe shall go over them in greater detail

Parent Attitude
Above all, the parent:s attitude is paramount. Through your effort and perseverance, your children will reach their full potential. To achieve this lofty goal, a positive attitude from parents is crucial, especially when facing adverse economic conditions or any form of discrimination.
Remember, Instill in your children a sense of self-improvement

This course will help parents give their children the best chance of success. I will discuss what optimal child-rearing and development could look like to provide the best opportunities for your child.

I am sure you are asking yourself How to raise successful children?
Every parents want the best chance of success for their kids.

But first, what do we mean by success?

Well, the most common conception is of someone having a prestigious career and making a
lot of money. However, this is only a narrow definition. If we look at the Latin etymology sub+cedere,to come from under. Therefore, a more general meaning would be to be self-realized; it means to have found your mission in life, financial or otherwise.

In the first 20 years of a human life, the role of parents in general and the mother in particular is crucial.

As a matter of fact, the attitude of parents toward their children can even trump their socio-economic surroundings and heredity: if a child is born in poor circumstances, with average aptitudes, and of any ethnic background, he can still beat the odds.

We will explore each stage of child development and analyze key factors for positive upbringing, focusing on the first 20 years of a person’s life.

In this mini-course we shall discuss what an optimum child rearing and development
could be so as to give a child the best chance of success in life.

We will go through each stage of child development and analyze the key factors of positive upbringing. We shall focus on the first 20 years of a person’s life.

By the end of this min-course, you will be