Parents take the role of teachers at home
TIRUCHY: Geetha Priya and Uthamar of Periya Milagupparai in Tiruchy have turned teachers at home and are providing training to their three-year-old daughter Rakshitha as the Anganwadi centre she attends does not want the lockdown to disrupt her preschool activities.
Apart from providing nutritious food, workers at Anganwadi centres, run under the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDSS), also carry out a plethora of activities as it is believed 85 per cent of a child's brain development happens before the age of five. Since the Anganwadi workers are tasked with assisting young children in this development process, they do not want a break in activities just because the Anganwadis, per se, are closed, forcing the children to be with their parents at home. The workers ensure parents continue the activities daily at home and also record the training exercises.
The exercises being carried out at the Anganwadi centres for children under five are aimed at improving their language skills, cognitive development and social, emotional and physical development.
Knowing that every stage of a child's growth is of paramount importance, the staffers are taking to WhatsApp to send videos and audios relating to the exercises to the parents, who in turn teach them to their children and also send back the video recording to the WhatsApp groups administered by the staffers.
Saradha, an Anganwadi staff in Tiruchy, said, "For instance, the topic of this month is `Trees, Plants and Creepers'. We inform the parents about the exercises that need to be done. Parents collect leaves, fruits, vegetables and creepers - whichever is available on their premises - and teach their children. This includes stories, songs about trees and also parts of trees."
Saranya, mother of toddler Nishara, of Ayyampalayam Anganwadi Centre, recorded a video of teaching her daughter Tamil rhymes performed as a recital based on instructions from the staffers. T Bhuvaneshwai, ICDSS project officer, Tiruchy, said "For the past 10 days, we are doing this. There are 42,000 children in 1,850 Anganwadi centres in the district. They are now undergoing training from their parents based on instructions from our staffers. It is rather surprising to see more fathers are showing interest compared to the mothers."
Similarly, M Harshithasri, daughter of Maruthai and Devika, was seen in the video reciting Thirukkural couplets, names of Tamil and English months, days of the week and rhymes.
Given the situation, parents have plenty of time to spend with their children, there are numerous videos flooding Anganwadi workers' phones. Parents of Anganwadi children are appreciative of the efforts of workers, saying that even private schools that collect huge amounts in fees are not concerned about the education of their children like this.
Also, there are children that are under the age of two. For them, the Anganwadi workers are, through phones, contacting parents and providing them with parenting tips on how to take care of them.