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Early Child Development in China
• Provision of free nutritional dense food packages that include protein, iron, calcium, and other micronutrients for children 6–36 months old; • Free routine health care and immunization for children under age 6; • Prenatal and postnatal classes for mothers to enhance their knowledge and skills in complementary food preparation, feeding practices, and parenting techniques; and • The formation of networks of caregivers in local communities to share experience and create opportunities for children to interact with their peers. Given that 90 percent of children under the age of 2 in China are cared for at home, parenting education is critical to improve child development outcomes. Parenting education can be provided to mothers, fathers, and other caregivers, such as grandparents. It typically teaches the techniques of human interaction needed for emotional, social, and cognitive development. It also provides counseling to address specific issues at home. Parenting training usually encourages caregivers to play with, read to, and teach their children basic concepts, such as numbers, shapes, and colors. It also encourages them to take children to play in groups and to create opportunities for peer interactions, which are essential for developing social and language skills. The Ministry of Health foresaw the need to intervene in this area. On May 2, 2012, it issued a series of technical notes providing instruction on how to inspect newborn babies, conduct health checkups of children, improve child nutrition, and manage nutritional diseases (MOH 2012). For its part, the Ministry of Education announced piloting of ECD service for children 0–3 in selected areas (MOE 2012). A home-based and community-based approach that facilitates interaction and training of mothers and caregivers by people knowledgeable about nutrition, health, and stimulation can be highly cost-effective. The Social Assistance Department within the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA) is considering introducing a child-focused component into the minimum guarantee scheme (dibao) or possibly a conditional cash transfer. MOCA’s Social Welfare Department plans to pilot communitybased delivery of a comprehensive child welfare service package. MOCA is also considering scaling up the training of social workers to support community-based service delivery. For its part, the State Council’s Leading Group on Poverty is piloting community-based services for poor children.