CEBU, Philippines - Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) programs and services in the country are not new. Early education, health, nutrition, psychosocial care, parenting education, and other social services are some examples of how the government has been providing for the holistic needs of the children zero to six years old.
Some of the programs and services being offered to ensure the well being, optimum growth and development of children zero to six years old include:
• Center-based programs. These are services at the community level undertaken in a center, school, or in the workplace. They can be in the form of public day care centers and private preschools, kindergarten or school-based programs, and/or community or church-based early childhood education programs. They are designed to meet the various needs of young children in an integrated manner. They provide services in a group setting where children can interact with peers and at the same time promote the physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development of a child.
• Public day care centers serve the needs of children three to five years old. They are located in barangays and funded by the barangay or local government. Public day care centers follow the curriculum set forth by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). They are staffed by day care center workers who are usually from the barangay. Due to the lack of kindergarten teachers and classrooms, kindergarten classes are sometimes held at public day care centers.
• Private preschools and kindergartens also serve the needs of children from three to five years old. They are usually located in urbanized areas. Since they require a tuition fee, they mainly cater to higher income groups. Private preschools and teachers are regulated by the Department of Education.
• Home-based programs refer to the services at the family level undertaken at home or in the neighborhood. These include neighborhood-based play groups, parent effectiveness services, child-minding homes, parent education, and home visiting programs. The programs seek to complement the gaps as far as center-based ECCD programs are concerned. It is an augmentation that answers the problem of geographical location and the risk of the children who have to take long distance walk and even cross rivers and streets and densely populated areas. The home-based programs are located just a stone’s throw away from their houses and within the neighborhood.
Other services in support of the ECCD program are:
• Parent Education and Involvement provides formal and alternative means of giving parents with information, skills, values formation, and support systems to assist them in their roles as primary caregivers, educators, and active partners in their communities.
• Basic health and nutrition services supported by the Department of Health (DOH). These include immunization, pre-natal and post-natal care, growth, monitoring and promotion, nutrition education, micronutrient supplementation, supplementary feeding, as well as deworming and other primary health care programs for children.
While the government provides ECCD services, there are many young children who have not participated in the programs or availed of these services.
Next on EARLY START: The ECCD situation in Cebu Province
Information about Early Childhood Care and Development is an advocacy of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. through the Dolores Aboitiz Children’s Fund. For comments and suggestions, email Nancy.Cudis@rafi.org.ph. Share with us what you want to know about ECCD.
The FREEMAN and the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. are doing weekly features on Early Childhood Care and Development to emphasize the importance of Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) and to increase public support for ECCD.