The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives of millions of people in Jordan and around the world. For parents with young children this quarantine means they now spend each day trying to balance so many different roles and responsibilities; work, teaching and helping with school work, taking care of their families and entertaining young children.
For us at the Queen Rania Foundation, we believe there is a vital role to play, to make the life of parents and children easier and more productive during these uncertain times. One of the first steps we took is to quickly move our 8 weeks Parents Education Program (My Child’s First Years) from a blended model to an online model as it’s no longer possible for mothers to attend face-to-face sessions.
Working with passionate partners and educators from the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, we were able to support parents in the comfort and safety of their homes, continuing our training program through Whatsapp groups, where mothers can learn, discuss, share activities they’re doing with their children and feel enabled to support their children’s development in the first 5 years of their life.
During the first few years of life, babies and toddlers rely on interactions with adults, particularly their parents, to grow and learn. Infants form around 1 million new neural connections per second –and a lot of these connections are stimulated through play. Without access to their regular educational providers, parents become their children’s “teachers.” And so, programs like My Child’s First Years are now more vital than ever to the wellbeing of children and parents in the world.
We are thrilled to see encouraging levels of engagement from mothers taking part in “My Child’s First Years”. They are carrying out activities that are conducive to their children’s development on a daily basis and sharing it with other mothers. QRF is on its way to creating a vibrant and constructive learning environment for children aged 0-5 in the comfort of their own homes and with the intimacy of their parents.
Join our group for more activities and tips:
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