Session 1: Early Childhood Development (ECD) and it's importance
During the past decade, Pakistan has made significant progress in the area of mother and child health. Yet, the number of mothers and children dying is unacceptably high. It is estimated that one woman dies every hour, due to pregnancy and birth-related causes. The number of children dying is even higher. One child dies every minute in Pakistan. Many of those who survive face a plethora of problems. Diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition are common, and enough to pull back on likely achievements of those who manage to survive.
Owing to multiple factors including low birth weight, lack of proper feeding, and repeated illnesses, the boys and girls stop growing. From the outside, we see this in the form of child being less than normal in weight and short in height. Inside, the effects are not visible. It affects the child’s brain development. The child faces difficulty in learning, gets low scores in school and ends up in low-income professions. In the adult life, this individual will earn less and provide insufficient food and opportunities to the family, transferring same problems to the next generation.
The hospitals, doctors and other medical staff have important roles to play. But equally important are the families, where the boys and girls, and their mothers, spend most of their time. Parents and other members of the family can take small steps to ensure that children are well cared for at homes and develop to their full potential both physically emotionally. If families are educated on key family care practices, coached and motivated to practice them, it can help in ensuring optimum growth and development of children. The role of parents/caregivers, family and community is critical.
In order to understand the care of young children, participants should understand the concept of early childhood and the critical and sensitive period of child development: Early Childhood Development (ECD), the integrated nature of child development and the different components of nurturing care for holistic development of children, Key Family Care Practices (KFCP) and why parents should give children nurturing and optimal care at this critical period of human development.
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
- Explain what is Early Childhood Development (ECD).
- Understand the critical situation of young children in Pakistan with respect to indicators.
- Explain the importance of investing in comprehensive Early Childhood Development (ECD) care services.
Presentations, brainstorming, group discussions etc
Flip charts, markers, power point slides, handouts
