It is inevitable that many of the issues affecting families over the last year predate the pandemic and remain once infection rates fade out and masks come off. These are issues that have been long-demanded but have not received adequate attention. We must keep them in focus during the recovery period in all countries and regions. That is why in this two-part post, we look back … [Read more...] about A Year in the Life of an American Family during the Pandemic (part I)
Early Childhood Development
Three reasons for prioritizing the reopening of childcare and preschools centers
Eight months have passed since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 pandemic. Since almost then, a large part of the childcare centers and preschools in Latin America and the Caribbean have been closed. According to the global tool developed by UNESCO to monitor the closure of educational centers due to the pandemic, only two countries of the … [Read more...] about Three reasons for prioritizing the reopening of childcare and preschools centers
One-on-one visits or group sessions? Two alternatives for parenting programs
For children to reach their full potential, it is essential to make sure their home environment fosters their development. This home environment has been made even more important by the situation of many care centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, our knowledge about how to implement family programs at scale is limited. Although efficacy trials of home visiting programs … [Read more...] about One-on-one visits or group sessions? Two alternatives for parenting programs
The Challenge of Integrating Early Childhood Services with Caribbean Health Systems
Initial results from an innovative parenting program in Jamaica showed that it benefited children's cognitive development and parents’ attitudes about caring for children. However, evaluations in subsequent years found that these effects had disappeared. In this post, we present an early childhood program that is incorporated into the country’s health system, as well as the … [Read more...] about The Challenge of Integrating Early Childhood Services with Caribbean Health Systems
Responsive Interactions for Learning: Helping Children Reach Their Potential
In low- and middle-income countries, approximately 250 million children fail to reach their developmental potential. One way to help these children thrive is by supporting their parents and caregivers to engage in responsive caregiving, an important component of Nurturing Care, and a practice that has been proven to support children’s … [Read more...] about Responsive Interactions for Learning: Helping Children Reach Their Potential