Health and Nutrition Practices in Child Development Centers: Inputs to Early Childhood Education Policies Enhancement

Exploring the health and nutrition practices in child development centers is significant to the enhancement of policies in Early Childhood Education. Health and nutrition are both vital in the growth and development of children and may affect their total well-being. This study aims to determine the health and nutrition practices provided to young children in the different child development centers during the Covid-19 pandemic. A pandemic is an outbreak of a disease that affects a significant portion of a population. To gather data, lived experiences of child development center workers, as well as parents and guardians, were explored. Face-to-face interview with the participants and ocular visitation in the centers was conducted by the researcher. The results showed that ample health and nutrition practices offered by the centers and most of the practices before the pandemic were still done at home with the guidance of parents/guardians with the help of the teachers. There were also facilities and equipment like a comfort room, kitchen, toothbrushing/handwashing area, play area, and garden that support the health and nutrition promotion that were not fully maximized during the pandemic. And lastly, it was revealed that child development teachers, parents/guardians, and the community were closely working together to offer the best health and nutrition practices for the children in the centers. The findings of the study can be used as inputs to the improvement of the programs, services, policies, and guidelines regarding health and nutrition for young children; and, it may serve as a tool in developing new ones in consideration of situations like disasters, calamities, and pandemic. Findings may also be a reference to provide information about child development centers and their efforts on health and nutrition, which may lead to possible interventions and solutions to the continuing health and nutrition issues in the early years of Filipino children.