EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT ECD A good start in

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT (ECD) A good start in life

Janice asks: “Children in our community grow up in hard conditions, especially the young ones. Many of them do not develop well. They get sick. Some even die. Families don’t access services. What can I do? ”

In this presentation you will learn… …why early childhood development is important. . in which ways early childhood development can be stimulated. …how to address the needs of young children in your community yourself.

Holistic Child Development

Early Childhood Development

What do young children need? Bonding = love & care Clean water Speech stimulation, storytelling, r eading Hygiene & sanitation Play Nutritious food Safety & security Stimulation of motorics And so on…

Why is ECD important? Healthy, loving and stimulating environment Well developed abilities Good foundation for rest of life Less developed abilities Bad foundation for rest of life But… Hard conditions

Effects of ECD services • Good foundation for rest of life. • High return on investment. • Individual, family and society benefit.

What should we do? Step 1. Identify ECD needs in your community Step 3: Choose interventions A. To be developed by: • You • Other organisation / Govt Step 2. Identify interventions: • Existing B. To be supported by: • Additional needed • Red een Kind • Other organisation / fund / government

Step 1: What is the problem? • • • Poor nutrition Poor hygiene Poor access and quality of health services. Lack of love, care and support Lack of pre-school system Violence

Holistic Child Development

Step 2: What can be done? Physical Development Maternal Health Breastfeeding Vaccinations Sanitation Hygiene Nutrition Play Cognitive Development Eyes movements Stimulation of hand-eye coördination Teaching words and meaning of words Colors and shapes Numbers memory

What can be done? Social and Emotional Development Bonding Feeling safe Feeling loved Learning about self and others Experiencing different emotions Positive interactions Play Gender roles Spiritual Development Learning about good and wrong Learning action-reaction Learning about traditions and values Learning about God Being loved and valued

Examples of ECD services Ante natal & post natal care Counseling on breastfeeding Nutrition Immunisations Advise about hygiene & sanitation Parenting support in self help group Training about relationship building ECE centre (kindergarten / preschool) Child protection services

Step 3: Choosing interventions An effective approach: Integrated Holistic Effective

The intervention matrix Problem Physical Development Cognitive Development Social and Emotional Development Spiritual and Moral Development What done already? What is needed? By whom?

Step 4: Who will do what? Track 1 Interventions you would not implement Call in other organisation(s) or government Track 2 Interventions you will implement Design and implement them yourself Track 3 No services, but they are needed Lobby

Principles REK Context specific Inclusive Use existing resources + structures Participatory

How to do this? 1. Assessment of the problem 2. Assessment of interventions done and gaps 3. Intervention selection 4. Stakeholder analysis and finalize the intervention matrix Also think of: • Who is able to support you financially? • How do you check if what you do is working? (M&E)

Good luck! Find extra information on our Early childhood development pages: • Good examples • Ready-to-use tools • Background information • Opportunities to get in touch Wanting to leave a comment? Yes please!