The Learning Through Play (LTP) programme and tools have served as a catalyst to BMRF’s entry into the field of Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD).

The LTP Calendars are an excellent parent education tool that provides parents with information on successive stages of child development from birth to 6 years, teaches parents play activities that enhance child development, and promotes attachment through active parental involvement in their child's development.

We, at BMRF, have extrapolated the definition of ‘parent’ to include all those in a parenting role. Using PARENTS as an acronym, we define parents as P – Pappa, A – Amma, R – Relatives, E – Elders, N – Neighbours, T – Teachers, and S – Society in general.

In this light, we have gone beyond training for parents to include centre-based (creches, day care, etc.) and community-based settings through a comprehensive ECCD programme based on the fundamentals of child development needs and parenting responses.

Our ECCD training programme and guidebook incorporate critical stage-wise information on health and hygiene, nutrition, safety, and special attention, as well as important topics such as school readiness, early identification, and behavioural problems. Our integrated ECCD programmes also crucially cover the pre-natal / ante-natal periods from conception to birth and thereafter till 6 years.

In 2011, BMRF, in partnership with UNICEF, facilitated a two-year ECCD intervention for socio-economically deprived communities in three districts of Tamil Nadu, designed to build an informed network of parents, empowered with knowledge on holistic child development and positive parenting practices. The project also led to the further development of various ECCD monitoring and assessment formats, including trainer/implementer profiles and feedback forms, child observation and assessment records, as well as Focus Group Discussion formats and methodologies. It also led to the creation of a home visiting manual ‘Baseline Information on Family’ in collaboration with UNICEF.

Since then, BMRF has conducted various other ECCD programmes in partnerships with other NGOs, such as Child Fund, and as technical consultancies. These include consulting and development of modules for two “Saving Brains” research projects funded by Grand Challenges, Canada in association with the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) and Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC).

BMRF’s longest running project is an ECCD project in select villages in Tiruvallur District in Tamil Nadu under a CSR financial partnership agreement with Michelin India Private Limited.

BMRF’s significant field experience with LTP and ECCD have earned it widespread recognition by the Government of India, NGOs, and funding agencies as a model ECCD training and facilitating centre.

PROJECTS

Project Report

Creating an Informed Network of Parents in Salem, Krishnagiri, and Dharmapuri Districts

In partnership with UNICEF, India

Project Report

Pilot Project on ECCD and Parenting Interventions – An Action Research in Rural Karnataka

In partnership with Child Fund, India

Digital Innovations

Father Involvement in Early Childhood Care: Insights From a MEL System in a Behavior Change Intervention Among Rural Indian Parents

Institute for Financial Management and Research, LEAD at Krea University, Chennai, India

Digital Innovations

Animated Videos on Parenting for Early Brain Development – A Pilot Project in India

Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC) & Society for People’s Education and Economic Change (SPEECH)