CHANTHARGONE, Myanmar (UCAN) -- "Catch them when they are young" is the aim of a Church-run program to give toddlers a head-start in education.

Karuna Myanmar, the Catholic Church's social service in the country, is running such a program in Mandalay archdiocese from July 7 to Aug. 6. It is designed to train kindergarten teachers and parents on how to start educating their children aged 3-6 years in more effective ways.

Three Catholic mothers and 19 young Catholic kindergarten teachers are taking part in this Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) program, one in a series Karuna Myanmar has run in various dioceses since 2004.

In the training hall in Chanthagone parish, 25 kilometers south of Mandalay in central Myanmar, the participants learn how to make toys and games for children and how to prepare parents to take better care of their children.

Ma Theresa, a Karuna trainer, says the problem is that parents, particularly in rural areas, are unaware of the importance of education, so they stumble when trying to raise their kids well. "At the grassroots level, many parents are uneducated, so they do not value education and do not encourage their child to be educated," she pointed out. "So it is necessary to educate the parents and make sure they understand how important education is in life."

The program also tries to offer guidance on how to discipline children and help with their emotional development.

Theresa noted that parents who may love their children sometimes just scold or hit their child without finding out why they misbehave. The program stresses that beating a child hinders a child's development, "and punishing a child in this way only brings bad results for the child's future," she said.

According to the trainer, parents who have taken the courses over the years have achieved good results. A father, for example, might grow closer to and play with his child, rather than remain aloof, which he previously may have thought engenders respect.
The educators try to help the kindergarten teachers learn not only how to handle the children but also how to coach the parents.

Khin Chaw Htay, 15, an assistant teacher in a preschool run by nuns, told UCA News she came to the course with no knowledge of child care and no patience with the children. Thanks to the course, she said, she has gained a better understanding of how to deal with children and how to help the parents understand their children.

Elizabeth Theingyi Win, 29, from St. John Parish in Mandalay, told UCA News she finds the training useful because she now feels she should devote more time to her child. She said one positive point of the course is that she has learned how to make toys instead of buying them from a shop.

Rose Mary Thi Thi Oo, 42, said the training has taught her the importance of education and that beating her four children would not get them to do what she wants. She also said that ignoring a crying child can have an effect on the child's development, because it will make the child feel unwanted.

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