Efforts to improve child development in rural areas

China is ramping up efforts to enhance early development of infants and young children in villages in a bid to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas, officials and experts said at an international symposium in Beijing on Saturday.

Wang Pei'an, former vice-chairman of the Population, Resources and Environment Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said early childhood development in rural areas was a major problem. Surveys showed that up to one-third of rural children may face developmental delays, he said during the Eighth International Symposium on Child Development.

"If targeted intervention is not carried out to tackle issues such as insufficient knowledge and education to enlighten parents, it will have an irreversible impact on children's lifelong development and lead to intergenerational transmission of poverty," Wang said.

Du Xixue, an official with the National Health Commission's development of population surveillance and family department, said China has attached great importance to infant and child care services in recent years.

The commission has promoted pilot rural child care programs in 12 provinces in western China. It has also supported foundations to launch infant and child care projects in villages in less-developed regions of Guizhou and Shaanxi provinces, Du said.

In 2015, the China Development Research Foundation, organizer of the symposium, launched the China Rural Education and Child Health Project (China REACH) to provide in-home parenting guidance to rural families with children aged from 6 to 36 months.

Fang Jin, vice-chairman and secretary-general of the foundation, said the program aims to improve the quality of interaction between rural infants and their caregivers, and help the development of children's cognition, language, and motor and social skills.

Parenting instructors were recruited from village communities and visited the homes of infants, toddlers and their caregivers to provide guidance, he said.

Xie Huayan became a parenting instructor in June, and provides care services to infants and toddlers in Youyang Tujia and Miao autonomous county in Chongqing.

However, before she joined the program, the 26-year-old mother of two was doubtful whether it would be effective. "I didn't think my children could learn anything from home visits and was concerned about possible charges," she said.

For young mothers and elderly caregivers living in rural areas and not earning an income, paying for help to aid early development of their children is considered a luxury.

Xie changed her mind when her 8-month-old son joined the project. Home visits by instructors were free, as well as teaching materials such as picture books and toys.

"I saw the results after my children went to kindergarten," she said. "The teachers told me my children are different from the other kids. They understood building blocks and puzzles."

She decided to join the project and become a parenting instructor to help more children in rural areas.

The China REACH project is funded by donations and local governments. On average, it costs 3,000 yuan ($450) per child annually for home visits. "As of last month, the project has covered 19 counties in 10 provinces and regions, benefiting 37,000 children," Fang said.

More than 1,300 parenting instructors are taking part in the project, he added.

Many of the instructors are young rural women who were unemployed after having children. Many had taken care of their children at home, but only realized after being trained as instructors that there is a scientific approach to parenting.

Ren Huimin, 33, became a parenting instructor in an isolated mountain village in Huachi county, Gansu province, in 2021.

Rural children brought up by a single parent or grandparents are usually more timid than their urban peers, she said.

"They are afraid to meet strangers at first. Things begin to change after several home visits by an instructor," Ren said.

Toddlers become more cheerful and outgoing, and their cognitive and motor skills gradually improve.

"Months later, they see me as a family member and happily run toward me for a hug every time I visit," she said, adding that she regretted not joining the program earlier, so that she herself could be a better parent.

Caregivers and children grow together through continuous interaction, said Xie Caihong, an instructor from Ledu county in Qinghai province.

"We directly tell parents what kind of behaviors may hurt children, hoping to change their parenting methods," she said, adding that parents also learned how to get along better with their children.

During the symposium on Saturday, the China Development Research Foundation launched the Home Visiting Action Plan for 100,000 Rural Infants and Toddlers (2023-25), an extension of the China REACH project, that aims to provide early childhood parenting services to a broader range of rural kids aged under 3.

The program will enhance the knowledge and skills of caregivers by improving parenting skills and practices in rural households, it said.

"The rate of parenting services in the program areas is expected to reach over 80 percent, ensuring that rural infants and toddlers approach the same developmental level as their urban counterparts," it said.