UNIT 4 NEEDS AND RIGHTS OF

CHILDREN
Structure
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Need for Physical Care
4.3 Need for Stimulation
4.4 Need for Love and Nurturance
4.5 When Needs are Not Met
4.6 Children with Special Needs
4.7 The Rights of Children
4.7.1 UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child
4.7.2 Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution
4.7.3 National Policy for Children
4.8 Child Care Services
4.8.1 The Need for Child Care Services
4.8.2 Components of Child Care Services
4.9 Summing Up
4:10 Glossary
4.11 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

4.1 INTRODUCTION
Human beings in their present form have been known to have existed on planet earth
for o v a a million years. Fossils that have been discovered give indications of events of
ages ago. mere are fossils, which date back to more than a million years ago, of a
family leading a child across a mud plain in Africa. Family life seems to have begun
with the very first people on earth. That children need special care and nunurance is a
fact as old as our civilization. A newborn child needs the care and protection of adults
if she is to swive. She has many abilities which help her to adjust to her
surroundings -she can see. hear. feel. taste and smell. She is able to make sounds to
atuact the attention of people. She can make movements and can suck at her mother's
breast. She has a brain which helps her to understand what is happening around her. But
in spite of these abilities the child cannot survive if left alone. She must get care and
protection from adults. The need of the child tbr physical care is apparent and obvious
to most of us. What is sometimes forgotten is that children also need love. affection and
stimulation.

Objectives
After studying this Unil you should be able to:.
discuss the importance of the child's needs for physical care, stimulation, love and
affection
recognize that some children have specla1 needs
identify the rights of children
be aware of the measures in India for meeting the needs of children
explain the components of child care services

4.2 NEED FOR PHYSICAL CARE '

Physical care of the child is essential to ensure her survival. During infancy the chid is
totally dependent on the caregiver. She must be fed. clothed, batlled. attended to,
provided a safe place for sleeping and resting and protected from harm and accidents.
At the child grows older. she learns to do many Lhings on her own - she can eat by
herself. take off some clothes, walk and run. But even though she is learning to do
some tasks on her own, she still looks to adults for help in other tasks. For example, by
age five the child is familiar with her immediate smoundings and can furd her way
without guidance. But when the caregiver takes the child with her to the market, shc
needs to hold the child's hand. The child has to be c&ed for at all ages. though the lund
of care changes with age and setting.
Good health is important to ensure optimal development of the child. The child must be
protected from sickness and disease as these can slow down her development. A sick
child is not interested in her surroundings and is often listless and irritable. Insanitary
living conditions, unsafe drinking water and unhealthy ways of cooking and eating food
can breed disease.
The child needs food for survival and development. It is important that the child eats
food which contains all the nutrients in the amounts required by her body. As the child
grows she naturally needs more food. You will read more about the type,quality and
q~~antityof food that the child requires at different ages in the subsequent Blocks'.

4.3 NEED FOR STIMULATION

To understand what is meant by stimulation, try a small experiment. Sit in a closed
room which is bare of all belongings. 1t should not have things like pictures. calendars,
books and magazines. There should be no other person in the room. There should
only be a hat or a chair on which you can sit. The windows and doors of the room
should be closed and should have curtains drawn so that you cannot see outside and
are not able to hear. Thus there is nothing inside or outside the room which can attract
your attention. Now sit alone in the room without doing anything. You will find it
very difficult to sit there for more than a few minutes unless you are trained in
meditation!
If you really do sit in that closed room for a few hours, it is possible that by the end of
it you will feel suange. Perhaps you will spend some time imagining different things
and probably sleep for some time. After a few hours you will probably want to run out,
meet people and talk to them, listen to the sounds of birds, read a magazine or do
something else. In short, you will want to go out and participate in an activity. What
does this experiment tell you about yourself? All of us need and seek events and \

experiences that we find interesting, that cause us to think and respond. At all times our
senses provide us information about our surroundings. People and surroundings provide
stimulation to us and we are attracted to the unfamiliar and the more exciting. One may
say that we need 'food for thought'. But this does not mean that one constantly needs
stimulation. There are times when you are tired and need rest. ' b e need for stimulation
is interspersed with the need for rest. But once rested you begin to seek out people and
events again.
During the course of the day many events take place around you but you give your
complete attention only to some events. Others are ignored or anended to only partially.
As an example consider making a trip to the market from your house. For the major
part of the trip you concentrate upon reaching the market taking care to avoid an
accident, planning your shopping and other activities associated with it. Perhaps you
might notice that a child carrying .a bucket slips, that the sky is becoming cloudy or that
a new building is coming up. But there are many othkr events wbich you do not notice.
You attend to events that are important to you in that situation or attract your attention
in some way. In other words, you respond to the stimulating events in the surroundings
selectively.
Let us now understand what we mean by stimulation in the context of the child. Any
event that causes the child to respond is stimulation. The father's smile, his words of
encouragement and his embrace stimulate the child. They give the cbild the information
that the father loves her and stimulate the child to respond to him. The touch of a hot
object is a stimulus which helps the child to reach the conclusion that touching hot
objects is painful and they must not be touched. The activities of running, hopping and
.
other games are stimulating to the child. A toy, a book, a tree, a loud noise, the stars,
the river -all stimulate the child. The entire envkonment is full of events, people and
things, each one of which can be a slimulus.
However. what Ihe child fillds stimulating and how sbe reacts to that event changes with
age as her abilities and thinking become more complex. When a nine month old cbild
picks up a flower, &e feels i i tries to put it in her mouth and shows jt to the person Needs pad Rights d
standing beside her. The adult-probably responds by saying, "Yes, this is a flower but alum
do not put it in your mouth!" The child may examine the flower closely but after a few
minutes she may drop it to attend to something else. At three years of age the same
flower makes the child ask, "What is the name of this flower?" By the time this child is
five years old she wants to know how plants grow. She becomes interested in the
variety of plants and learns that plants have different shapes, colours and sizes. At eight
she may try growing a plant and is interested in observing how ~tgrows from week to
week. She learns that plants are living things. As a college student she may become a
scientist specializing in Botany. Thus as the child grows, her thinking becomes more
complex and she attends to more details. Some more examples will make this clear. A
three year old child enjoys singing rhymes. A nine year old, however, may prefer to
read a short story to singing a rhyme. However, one does not expect this child to read a
book which is beyond her capabilities and, theretore, not meaningful. Three year olds
like to jump from low heights because they have just mastered the skill and enjoy
practising it; six year olds, on the other hand, would experiment hopping on one leg. It
must be clear by now that stimulation refers to providing the child a variety of
experiences that are meaningful.
The child's need for stimulation leads her to explore. You have read in the first Unit
that children are curious by nature. Exploration is the way the child learns about the
world. It gives the child a sense of wonder about people and things. The play activities
of children provide opportunities to find out about the world. Children learn during the
course of play. It is curiosity and the desire to explore that have led people to making
discoveries. At no other age is this urge more apparent than in childhocd. This urge is
the starting point of all educational programmes.
Let us now see how stimulation and exploration foster development. When a
one-year-old points to an object and looks at the person standing beside her, the latter
responds by saying, "This is a balloon. Do you want it?" In this process the child's
language develops. She has come to know that the object is called a balloon. Even
though she cannot speak as yet .she has begun to understand simple speech. She has
also heard a statement and a question and will realize that structure of language contains
questions and answers.
The child's social and emotional traits develop from her daily interactions with peopIe
and the stimulation she gets from them. The smile of the caregivers, their playful
interactions in feeding, talking to and dressing up the child help her to form
relationships.
Stimulation is essential for cognitive development. During infancy the caregiver and
other adults talk to the child, tickle her, sing with her and play games such as hide and
seek. Such playful interactions are the basis for learning. A stimulating environment
during the preschool years, where the child has a variety of experiences and
opportunities to explore and adults who help her understand her experiences and answer
her queries, promc, : the child's development. In the later Blocks you will read about the
play activities that children find stimulating and that foster development.

4.4 NEED FOR LOVE AND NURTURANCE

Love and nurturance are central to the development of the child. Who is a loving and
nurturing caregiver? A loving caregiver attends to the child's needs promptly and with
concern. When the infant cries, for example, s11e tries to find the reason for it and ,
comforts her. The caregiver also anticipates the child's needs and thus reduces her
distress. Some acts of nurturance are talking with the child, playing and singing with
her, listening to what the child has to say and spending time with the child. Love and
warmth can be communicated while answering the child's questions, appreciating and
praising her or explaining to her when she does something wrong. Let us now see how
love and nurturance help in development.
Love and nurturance lay the foundation for social and emotional devklopment. As you
know, the infant develops an attachment to the person who looks after her. This
atlachnent forms the basis for all later relationships. If the infant finds the experience
with this Derson rewarding, she feels it is worthwhile to form relationships and begins to
41
Introdudon to Chlld Cam relate to other people. Every new relationship adds to the child's experience and
d Development
influences her attitude towards olhers.

A loving caregiver coaveyo feelings of love, warmth and security

In Unit 3 you have read what may happen if tbe child is not able to fonn a loving
relationship in the first few months. Nurturance also influences the child's feelings about
herself. When the child is cared for, she feels she is important to people around her and
is recognized and accepted. 'his adds to her confidence. You have read earlier that
feelings of confidence are important.as they influence one's attitude towards success and
failure. These feelings are important for another reason also. They influence tbe child's
exploratoiy behaviour. It is only when the child feels confident about adult protection
and security that she tries to do something new or different. A child who is confideat
that caregivers will come to her when she needs them will take a new step.Tbe one who
feels mecure will cling to the parents. In short, language, mental and physical
development are fostered by a cafegiver who provides a variety of experiences to the
child and does so witb affection.
Check Your Progress Exercise 1 Needs and Rlghts uC
Chlldren
1) Read the following statements carefully and state in the brackets whether they are
True or False.
a) As the child grows older, she becomes increasingly capable of fulfilling some
of her physical needs. ( )
b) We respond to all the events that happen around us. ( 1
C) Stimulation refers to providing tlie child with a variety of experiences that are
meaningful for her. (
d) Stimulation is important only for cognitive development. . (
e) Children like to explore their environment and in this process learn about the
things and people around them. (
f) A loving caregiver Uies to fulfil all the needs of children. (
g) Love and affection foster confidence and influence the exploratory behaviour of
the child. (

"Can I Jump? Should I try? Yes, I will!"

A child w l ~ ofe.els secure is willi~~g
to take on cl~alle~iges

4.5 WHEN NEEDS ARE NOT MET

The fulfilment of the needs of tlie child will @sure her optimal development. If the
child is not provided good physical care, it can lead to sickness and disease. In extreme
cases, this may result in a handicap such as loss of sight or hearing. An undernourished
and sick child has less energy and gets tired easily. She does not take interest in her
surroundings and is irritable. This has a negative influence on all aspects of
development.
 I

IntroducUon to Child Care Similarly, when the child lacks opportu~litiesfor exploration and has no affectionate
and Ikvdopment
caregiver, dislurba~lcesin develop~ne~~t
may result. You have read that if the child is not
able to form an emotional bond wiU~a caregiver in the fmst few months of life, her
social development can suffer. Her cognitive, language and physical development may
also be slowed down due to lack of stimulation. When the child lags behind in
development, it may lead to low self-esteem and lack of initiative.
The needs of children are interrelated and all of them have to be met consistently and
continuously. If love and nurturance are not forthcoming from the caregiver, the child's
development is most likely to be slowed down despite adequate amounts of food and
stimulation. Usually these needs of Ule child are met by d ~ efamily and primarily by the
moBer. In Ule ~~onnal course llne family provides an optimal environment for the
developme~~t of Unc child. If the child does not get affection from the family but is able
to form a loving relationship will1 any oae person, her dcvclopment will not be
adversely affected.
By now you must llave realized that an optimal environment is necessary to ensure
normal development of the child. An optimal environment would include adequate
physical care, a variety of expericrlces and opportunities to explore which will stimulate
the child. A loving and nurturing caregiver is absolutely important. Some chiidrcn may
be deprived of such an environment. Deprivation means a lack of something and in his
field of study it has come to represent a slate where children are continuously in want.
Poverty usually causes a state of deprivation.
Developmental changes in the needs of the child: As the child develops, her needs
change and become more complex. When the child is bom she has to be fed, clothed,
bathed and attended to. By four months of age she begins to turn over on her side. She
can move from one comer of tlx bed to another and the mother must be careful hecause
the child may fall. Thus at each stage of development the child needs a caregiver though
the nature of the care changes. You will be able to recall many such examples from
your own experiences and from observation of children. Similarly, you have already
read that what the child finds stimulating changes with age.

46 CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

There are some' children who have needs M e r than the ones discussed till now.
Children with a disability need more care. Children who have a physical disability such
as an inability to see , hear or speak or those whose cognitive and language
development is slower or those who have an emotional problem have to be given s p c i d
attention. These children must be provided special education in keeping with their
abilities. A deaf child will not be able to benefit from the usual method of school
instruction. Learning and teaching t'or her should take into consideration her inability lo
hear. Children with disability also need counselling for a vocation, patience on Le part
of the caregivers and assislance for healdl check-ups. Love and affection, so crucial for
development, become all the more imprtant in the case of such a child. The child
already knows that she is different from others but she must not be made to kel
inferior. A positive feeling about llcrself is important for Ule child in order to miunage
the disability and realize her potential. This is possible only when she is accepted and
treated will1 affection.

4.7 THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN

The needs of a large number of children in our country are not fulfilled. A large numhcr
of children born in India die within a few years of their birth. Even survival is no1
ensured. Many olllers suffer from ill 11e;llUn and disease and are handicapped throughout
Uleir lives. The reasons are many: inadequate food, living environments which breed
breed
disease and lack of money to avail of health facilities.
Many children find themselves in distressing situations such as being orphaned,
separated, abandoned or neglected by the caregivers. Some of these children may be
placed in institutions but others llave to learn to fend for themselves from a very early
age. A considerable number of children do not receive education because of one reason
48 . ..
or another. Many work lolrg hours under dangerous conditions. 'Ille environment of such ~ e e d and
s R J Wd
children is not stimulating and they do not get enough opportunities for play 'and audrca
exploration.
In the light of the fact that the needs of children in many parts of the world are
neglected, some measures have to be taken to remedy h e situation. It is necessary to do
so because each child has the right to a happy childhood. This is possible only when all
the basic needs are met. Secondly, children are future citizens and they must be helped
to develop abilities and capacities that will enable them to be useful to society. -
Protecting children from the ill effects of poverty becomes a responsibility of the
Government. Keeping these aspects in mind, the 'Declaration of the Rights of the Child'
was formulated in 1959 by the United Nations. The declaration is a guideline for
Governments and people working with children to plan programmes for them. It is not,
however, legally binding.

4.7.1 UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child

The declaration states 10 rights. The Government of India has accepted the declaration
and is a signatory. Let us read in brief the contents of the declaration.
Right to equality: All children are equal and are entitled to tl~eserights without
discrimination on account of race, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, birlh or other status whether of himself or his family.
Right to special protection: The child will be given special protection and will be
given opportunities and facilities to develoo physically. mentally, morally, spiritually
and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and
dignity.
Right to name and nationality: The child shall be entitled from birth to a name and
nationality.
Right to health, adequate nutrition, housing and medical facilities: Towards this end
special care and protection will be given to the child and the mother including prenatal
and posmatal care.
Right to special care for children with special needs: The child with special needs
will be given the special treatment, education and care required by his particular
condition.
Right to love and understanding: The child. wherever possible, will grow up under the
care of parents and, in any case. in an atmosphere of affection and security. Society has
the duty to extend particular care to children without a family and without adequate
means to support themselves.
Rlght to education: The child will be provided with education which ~ould~enable the
development of abilities, individual judgement and sense of responsibility and enable the
child to become a useful member of society. The child will be &en full opportunity for
play and recreation.
Rlgbt to be the first to receive protection and relief in times of danger and
calamity.
Right to be protected from all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation: The child
will not be allowed to take up employment before a certain age and, in no case, will be
r m i t e d in any occupation hannful to physical, mental or moral development and which
interferes with education.

Rlght to be protected from practices which may foster ra=ial,,religiousor other

forms of discrimination: The child must be brought up in a spirit of understanding,
tolerance and peace and friendship among people.
L& us now read about tbe measures that have been taken io our country towards
fulfdling the needs of children.
brtred.ctr~a(oaid Care 4.7.2 Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution
adDc*d
Even before the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959. the framers of the
Indian Constitution realized the importance of the needs of children. Consequently, they
provided guidelines in the Conslitution which, if followed, would contribute towards
meeting the needs of children. These provisions in the Constitution are guidelines and
not laws. The three guidelines with reference to children are:
No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory
4?' or mine or engaged in any other hazardous occupation.
The Government shall ensure that the tender age of children is not abused and that
they nre not forced by economic necessity to do work unsuited to their age.
Children will be given opportuhities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner
and in conditions of freedom and dignity. They will be protected against
exploitation and abandonment.
The Government shall try. within a period of ten years of the commencement of
this Constitution. to provide free and compulsory education for all children until
they complete the age of fourteen years.

The Government has. however, been unable to-reach these goals. A large section of
our population is unable to make use of facilities for education. Ptimary education
is free in all states, but still only half the total number of school going children
altend school. Despite various legislations children continue to work in difficult and
dangerous jobs. The employers find loopholes in the law and the children are forced
to work because of poverty.

4.7.3 National Policy for Children

Realizing that despite many efforts and measures on the part of the Government and
voluntary organizations. the needs of the children of a large section of our population
were still unfulfilled, the Government adopted the National Policy for Children in
August, 1974.

The policy states that children are a "supremely important asset" of tbe nation. Their
care is the responsibility of che councry. To meet these objectives the policy stated a
number of measures among which are-tbe Govenunent shall launch programmes for
meeting the health, nutritional and educational needs of children and will p r o m them
from cruelty and exploitation. You will read about some of the programmes for children
in our auntry in Block 7.

C M Your Progress Exercise 2

Answer the following questions briefly in the space provided.

1) Describe what may hapwn if the child lacks apponunitia faexploration and does
not get a stimulating environment.

2) What is meant by the term 'optimal environment'?

3) What measures have been taken in our country to meet the needs of children?

4.8 CHILD CARE SERVICES

By now you must have realized that tllcre is a uecd to plan programmes for children
that would help meet their needs and see Illat Uwir rights are easured. While planning
services one has to keep in mind tile age of tlle children for whom they are intended,
the duration of the services and the 'inputs that would be provided. The services may be
for children living with their families or Ibr abandoned or orphaned children or those
with special needs; they may be provided tbr a few hours in a day as in a preschool, for
eight hours a day as in a crechdday care centre or tlle services may be residential in
nature; the services may provide any or a combination of tl~einputs of health care,
nutrition and education.
This Course, as you know, aims at enabling you to plan services of a creche or a
preschool for children up to six years. Creches provide a full day's care to children. A
preschool is a centre for three to live year olds. Prescl~oolsare called by various names:
anganwadis, balwadis, vikaswadis, nurseries, kindergartens and phy centres. In creches
and preschools one would need to provide tlle inputs of healtll clue, nutrition and play
activities for children since the needs for physical care, stimulation and nunurance must
all be met for optimal development. In olher words, creches and preschools provide
early childhood care and education.

4 . The Need for Child Care Services

You are aware that the Govemmerlt has swtcd progranmes for cluly childhood care and
education. Some of these programm& provide services of day m e centres and
preschools. Providing these services is i~nportantbecause a number of families lack the
resources'to fulfil all the needs of children. However, Ulese services are able to help
only a limited number of children. There is a need for increasing the number of such
senices.
Creche services are needed because the number of women wllo work outside the family
setting is increasing. In such a situation the mother, who is outside the home for a
major part of the day, has four options regarding the child:
i) She can leave the child with a hired help at home.
ii) She chn take the child to her place of work.
iii) She can leave the child with another adult member of the family.
iv) She can leave the child with an older child at home.
However, each of these optio~lshas its limitations. The first alternative is open only to
those who are able to afford hired help. When the mother takes the child with her to her
place of work,' the child is left on her own while the mother works. She may play with
other children there, if yny, but her opportunity for inlcraction witll caring adults is
limited. The third alternative is possible only if Ulere are other adult members in the
family. However, among families of lower socio-economic groups, where these services
are most required, there is rarely an adult who can stay at home to look after the
children since all adults go out to earn. The fourth possibility of leaving the infant with
an older cl ild deprives the older child of education and is one of the reasons for the
low literacy levels in our country. Besides this, the older child may no1 be able, to look
after the younger one adequately. If child care facilities are provided in the primary
schools, the older dildren will be able to leave tlleir younger brothers and sisters in the
child care centre for the duration for which they are h school. This would also benefit
the younger children since they would avail of tile various services at the child care
~ntrodsetlmto m ~ Cda n How does preschool education help a child? Is it useful to attend a preschool? You will
dDevelopment
read about this aspect in tlie following subsection.

4.8.2 Components of Child Care Services

Let us briefly discuss the nature of inputs that should be provided in the child care
centre. The subsequent Blocks 'will deal at length with the needs of children in the
different age groups and how they can be met in a child care centre.
Health: Health is an essential part of total development. Regular heatth check-ups to
ensure that the child is developing normally and immunization against preventable
diseases are necessary. Refecring the child to the ho,spital in the case of complaints
which caniiot be treated at the local health centre and first aid facilities are also
important aspects of health care.
Nutrition: Adequate nutrition is important for the health of the child. It is known that
a number of children do not get Ule amount of food they need. Many others do not eat
the right type or adequate amount of food. Depending upon the duration of their stay in
the centre, children should be provided snacks or meals.
Education: You know that education is important for the child. What do we mean by
education for the young child? We mean providing stimulation to the child by allowing
opportunities for play since this is the way children learn.
From bird1 to Ulree years of age tlie child comes in contact with parents, siblings, other
members of tlie family and neiglibours. Stimulation is provided by these people and this
is the way Uie child learns about hersell', develop, language, acquires physical and motor
skills and learns about the world around her. By the time the child is about three years
old she is physically mobile, has acquired language and can communicate her wants.
Her tliinking has further developed. The child's world broadens and she begins to take
an active interest in everything around her. She wants to knowewhy it rains, what the
names of objects are and why Uiings move. During the preschool years the child learns
a variety of concepts during Uie course of play and through the events and experiences
in her environment.

Some pare~~ts enrol their children at three years of age in a preschool. This is the
beginning of prescliool education. However, there are several wrong ideas about the
nature of education to be given at this age. Many believe that education begins only
when the cliild enters Class I. Before that it is expected that the preschool child will
learn a few rhymes and stories, identify some vegetables and animals, learn to draw and
paint and get into the habit of sitting quietly on a chair or a mat. On the other hand,
there are parents wlio force tlieir cliildren to memorize names of colours, alphabets or
numbers aid to read and write. They feel that these years are not to be wasted but must
be used for formal learning. They do oot realize that the child is not yet ready for this
type of rigorous formal instruction. This emphasis on learning becomes a burden for the
child and slie begins to fear school.
Parents who think that nolliing much happens in preschool years miss a critical period in
tlie child's life when'opportunities for play and exploration help the child to grow in
milid and body. Those who feel that these years are important for formal learning make
learning a burden for the child. What then is the meaning of preschool education?
Preschool education aims at the all-round development of the child, i.e. physical,
motor, cognitive, language, social and emotional, by provldlng the child stimulating
experiences and opportunities for play and exploration. Of course, a loving and
warm caregiver is absolutely important. Children's play should be the medium of
learning in a preschool. Prescl~ooleducation becomes important because it provides a
setting for a child to learn to relate to others, make friends and do things in a group
. .
where slie imbibes the values of sharing and cooperation. The &ild becomes confident
about herself. This will help her to adjust to a bigger group in the primary class and to
cope witli beiug away from home. Besides promoting social and emotional development,
preschool education is important for physical, cognitive and language development as
well. It lias been seen that children wlio have had some kind of stimulation during the
early years are more likely to do well i ~ primary
i school and less likely to leave school
after the first one or two classes. For a child who has not attended a preschool, primary
school is unfamiliar. She may be unprepared for the formal routines of school. Finding
 school unpleasant she may wish to leave i t She, therefore, does not stay long enough in
school to learn to read. write and count. Thus preschool education prepares the child for
formal schooling. .
i
You have read in this Unit that children find stimulation through play. It has been said
that play should be the medium of learning in the early years. In the n u t Unit you will
I read about the role of play in development

Check Your Progress Exerclse 3

Answer the following questions briefly in the space provided below.

1) What are the three factors that necessitate providing child care services?

, ............................................................................................................................................
2) What should be the ptqxw of preschool education?

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4.9 SUMMING UP
In this Unit you have read that the child needs physical care, stimulation and love from
the caregivers. All these needs of the child must be met simultaneously to ensure
optimal development Usually these needs are met by the family, primarily by the
mother. The family provides an optimal environment for the development of the child.
However, these needs of the child can also be met by persons outside the family. For
many children in the world basic needs are neglected. Recognition of this fact and b e
realization that this must be remedied led to the Declaration of the Rights of the Child
in 1959. The Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution and the National Policy for
Children adopted by the Indian Govenunent .provide 'guidelines'for ensuring a happy
childhood for all children. The fact that an increasing .number of women have started
working outside the home has made it necessary to provide creches. Preschools prepare
the cbild for fonnal schooling and foster all'mund development Creches and preschools
should meet the child's need for health care, nutrition and stimulation.

4.10 GLOSSARY
' .

Rewarding: Any even4 thing or behaviour that is satisfying and pleasurable to the
cbild In this particular case, rewarding refers to a satisfying emotional relationship with
tbe caregivex.
Signatory: One who has signed a doqument or an agreement.
 Iniroductlon lo Child Care
.nd ~ c v d o p n c n i 4.11 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
EXERCISES
Check Your Progress Exercise 1

1) a) True
b) False. We respond to tile events in the surroundings selectively.
C) True
d) False. Stimulation is important for cognitive, language, social, emotional.
pllysical and motor development.
e) True
f) True
g) True

Check Your Progress Exercise 2

1) If the child lacks opportul~itiesfor exploration and docs not get stimulation, her
development in all areas will suffer. This can lead to low self confidence and lack
of initiative.

2) Optimal environment means an environment that meets all the needs of the child. If
the environment is optimal, the child's development will proceed according to the
norms. An optimal environment will include adequate physical care, opportunities
for exploration and loving and nurturing caregivers.

3) The Directive Principles of the Constitution a11d the National Policy for Children
have been framed. Based on these, the Government has launched programmes for
meeting the health, nutritional and educational needs of children.

Check Your1 Progress Exercise 3

1) i) A number of families lack resources to fulfil all the needs of their children.
i
1

ii) Many of the families wllere both parents are working do not have adequate
arrangements for the care of younger children during the day. Tberefore,
I provision of creches becomes necessary.
iii) Preschool education becomes hnportant because it prepares the chid for school
and fosters all round development.

2) Prescliool education should enable ill1 round development of the child. 'Ibis is
t possible by providing the child stimulating experiences and opportunities for play.