Children First: Early Childhood Development

Photograph by Rana Mullan
© UNICEF Turkey 2006

Real love needs care

The situation

As of 2006, 18.5% of the population of Turkey is estimated to be under 10 years of age — 9% of them under 5 years old. For these children, their earliest years are without question the most critically important phase of both mental and physical development. For instance, 80% of brain development takes place by the age of six, which is why pre–school educated children consistently perform well at all higher levels of education.

However, investment in Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes is poor and the result is that:

not enough social/health workers or teaching staff are trained to provide ECD information;
regional distribution of ECD services is uneven;
pre–school classroom space is insufficient;
school performance is low;
incidence of violence, abuse and neglect of children is high;
gender discrimination is widespread.

As long as these gaps persist, many parents — especially those from low income families — will remain uninformed about their children’s needs during this critical stage of their development.

The solution

A nationwide ECD programme that emphasises the importance of breastfeeding, good nutrition, immunisation, positive parenting and pre–school education will help parents to meet the needs of their young children. By consistently promoting gender equality and child participation throughout, ECD will bring both short and long term benefits for children, their families, their communities and their state, including:

reduced numbers of infant deaths;
reduced malnutrition in children;
increased learning achievement in children;
increased gender equality and child participation;
increased numbers of girls completing their primary education;
reduced incidence of violence, abuse and neglect of children;
better quality parenting, better communication between parents and children — and less conflict.

The activities

Knowledge and awareness of the benefits of ECD needs to be increased amongst service providers, policy and decision makers and the media as well as parents and caregivers.

Printed materials and television and radio broadcast spots highlighting the importance of breastfeeding, good nutrition, immunisation, positive parenting and pre–school education will be produced.
Service providers will be trained to provide parents with accurate information about ECD. Parents need to be provided with educational material to use with their children.
Press and broadcast media will be trained on the many advantages of ECD and how best to use their knowledge to raise public awareness.
Pre–school teachers will be given training and refresher classes on the new curriculum.
An internet portal will be developed to keep teachers informed of the latest developments in ECD, such as the new curriculum, and to recommend educational games for children.
Private sector milk producers will be mobilised to provide free milk for pre–school children.

The result

A comprehensive, nationwide programme of ECD will help every child get the best start in life. As happier, healthier and better educated adults, this generation of children will contribute to the long term development of a more prosperous Turkey. In the short term, ECD will ensure that:

more children will survive and thrive;
more families and care givers will use positive discipline — and no violence — with children;
more parents and caregivers in urban areas will send their children to pre–school;
more children will be better prepared to enter the primary education system;
older girls will be able to attend school since they will not have to stay at home and look after younger children;
gender parity in pre–school and primary school enrolment will be achieved by 2007;
learning achievement will match the OECD average by 2013;
more mothers will be able to go to work and contribute to family income;
social equity will increase and poverty will decrease;
returns on investments in all other development initiatives will be greatly increased.

For sponsors

Supporting the well–being and development of children is everybody’s business because we all bear the burden when our state, our communities and our families fail to give our children the right start in life.

For business, the returns on private investment in ECD are numerous. Healthier, happier children with improved learning performance and lower school drop–out rates grow up to be more socially responsible adults. Their increased lifelong earning potential will lead to a thriving economy — and thriving business.

Involvement in the development of children at such a fundamentally important level will fix the positive image of sponsoring businesses and agencies in the public eye.