UNICEF EAPRO - ECD Parenting Mapping Report-Final-small

MAPPING EARLY CHILDHOOD
DEVELOPMENT PARENTING PROGRAMMES

IN EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
2024
Suggested citation:
Mapping Early Childhood Development Parenting Programmes
in East Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2024
Published by: UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office
Copyright: © 2024 UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office
Cover photo: © UNICEF/UN0333350/Soares
UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office

19 Phra Atit Road Bangkok 10200 Thailand
Email: [email protected]
www.unicef.org/eapro
MAPPING
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
PARENTING PROGRAMMES
IN EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
2024
2 Mapping ECD Parenting Programmes
in East Asia and the Pacific
CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4
CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS 6
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 8
1. BACKGROUND 23
1.1 Status of early childhood development in East Asia and the Pacific 23
1.2 Early childhood development, caregivers and parenting interventions 24
1.3 Rationale for conducting this mapping study 25
2. STUDY DESIGN 27
2.1 Objectives 27
2.2 Conceptual framework 27
2.3 Selection criteria for mapping ECD parenting programmes 28
2.4 Methods of data collection 29
3. FINDINGS 31
3.1 Policy and legislative framework: Family-friendly policies
supportive of parenting 31
3.2 Governance mechanisms 33
3.3 Financing 34
3.4 Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms 35
3.5 Focus and scope of the parenting programmes 35
3.6 Implementation modalities 38
3.7 Workforce 40
4. GAPS AND CHALLENGES 43
4.1 Enabling policy environment and governance mechanisms for ECD
parenting programmes in the region 43
4.2 Supply of ECD parenting programmes in the region 44
4.3 Demand and access to ECD parenting programmes in the region 44
5. OPPORTUNITIES 45
6. RECOMMENDATIONS 49
6.1 Recommendations for creating an enabling environment for ECD parenting
programmes 49
6.2 Recommendations for supporting the effective supply of
parenting programmes in the region 53
6.3 Recommendations for promoting access to ECD parenting programmes
by creating demand for quality interventions 58
REFERENCES 63
3
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
EAPRO East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (UNICEF)

ECCD Early Childhood Care and Development
ECD Early Childhood Development
MaPa Masayang Pamilya Para sa Batang Pilipino Program (Philippines)
SEED Supply-Enabling Environment-Demand
SDGs Sustainable Development Goals
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
WHO World Health Organization
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was commissioned to Zuyi Fang, ECD consultant with the UNICEF East Asia and
Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) and the Regional Office for South Asia, who led its design,
including the inception report, tool development and data collection, and the initial draft of
the report.
The EAPRO ECD team led the completion and finalization of this publication: Ana Maria
Rodriguez, ECD Specialist and Meenakshi Dogra, ECD consultant. A warm thanks is
extended to Peck Gee Chua, ECD consultant, for her valuable comments during this study.
Sincere appreciation is extended to ECD focal points and team members of UNICEF country
offices.
This publication would not have been possible without the dedicated time invested by
the EAPRO parenting working group for their expertise and invaluable inputs. Special
appreciation also goes to our external experts for their inputs in the draft: Amalee McCoy
from the Global Parenting Initiative and Jennel Reyes from Parenting for Lifelong Health for
participating in the study.
5
© UNICEF/UNI310305/Sinis VII Photo

CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS
Early childhood refers to the period of the first eight years of life, spanning the pre-
conception phase, the first 1,000 days of life, the preschool years (age 3 to 5 or 6 years) and
the transition period (school entry to 8 years) (UNICEF, 2020).
Early childhood development, or ECD, refers to the continuous process of learning and
growing across the cognitive, social, language, behavioural, emotional and motor domains
(UNICEF, 2017).
Caregivers encompasses biological, step, foster and adoptive parents (mothers and
fathers), grandparents, relatives and any other people who significantly contribute to the
care of children in non-institutional settings (UNICEF, 2017). For this report, “caregivers” and
“parents” are used interchangeably.
Parenting, also referred to as caregiving, involves the “interactions, behaviours, emotions,

knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and practices associated with the provision of nurturing care”
(UNICEF, 2017).
Parenting programmes are interventions that are delivered to caregivers of children and aim
at improving the overall quality of parenting by increasing parenting knowledge and skills and
promoting positive parenting attitude, behaviours and practices (WHO, 2023a). Evidence-
based parenting programmes are often based on social learning and attachment theories
(Bandura and McClelland, 1977; Bowlby, 1969) and can consist of a series of structured
sessions delivered using various methods (teaching, modelling, role-play and practicing),
formats (individually and/or in groups; in-person and/or remotely) and settings (at home, at
a centre or virtually). Examples of parenting programme components include knowledge of
child developmental stages, parent–child relationship-building, proactive parenting, positive
reinforcement, behavioural management techniques (redirect and ignore) and emotional
regulation skills for both parents and children (Leijten et al., 2019). Parenting programmes
can be delivered as stand-alone programmes or combined with other interventions to
address multiple issues simultaneously.
Parenting programmes can be universal, designed for all families regardless of the level
of risk for not achieving child developmental potential; selective, delivered for families with
children at risk of not achieving their developmental potential due to such factors as poverty;
or indicated, delivered to families with children not achieving their child developmental
potential or parents experiencing significant difficulties in providing nurturing care.
Nurturing care is defined as “conditions created by public policies, programmes and

community support services” that “enable communities, families and caregivers who are
experiencing difficulty in caring for their children to become [the] best providers of nurturing
care”. It comprises five interrelated and indivisible components of nurturing care that help
children reach their full potential: good health, adequate nutrition, safety and security,
responsive caregiving and opportunities for learning (WHO, UNICEF and World Bank Group,
2018).
Concept and Definition 7
Responsive caregiving involves caring, timely and appropriate responses by caregivers to

children’s verbal and non-verbal signals. It provides children with opportunities for stimulation
and learning, strengthens love and affection between caregivers and children, builds positive
parent–child relationships and secure attachment with the caregivers and protects children
from harm and injury (WHO et al., 2018).
The concept of family-friendly policies introduced by UNICEF has emerged as a way of

thinking about and addressing challenges related to child care. There is no agreed definition
of the concept, but it is generally conceived as a set of policies that help parents and
caregivers reconcile various aspects of work and family life. They are broadly categorized
into paid parental leave, supported breastfeeding at the workplace and in public spaces,
decent wages, child benefits and grants and affordable, accessible and quality childcare
support services. These policies help to address the needs of parents and families for the
time, resources and services to care for their young children (UNICEF, 2019). This review
specifically focuses on the first three categories, which aim to enhance the caregiver's
ability to care for children. In contrast, childcare services involve outsourcing the care to
someone outside the family.
Social protection measures are policies and services for the most vulnerable populations
to buffer against the consequences of poverty and other adversities. Examples include
conditional and unconditional cash transfer programmes (United Nations, 2021).
Violence against children, as guided by article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, refers to any act on children that causes harm, injury, abuse, neglect or negligent
treatment, maltreatment and/or exploitation whether accepted as “tradition” or disguised
as “discipline”, including hindering child development (United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child, 1989).
Disability is defined, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities, as any condition (physical, mental, intellectual and sensory impairments
and chronic diseases) that results in a compromised relationship between people and their
environment and leads to barriers in full participation within society (UN Department of
Economic and Social Affairs – Disability, 2008). Children with disabilities refers to people
aged 0–18 years who have a disability.
Gender norms are the informal rules and shared beliefs that distinguish expected behaviour
on the basis of gender and that lead to inequitable outcomes between individuals based on
their gender identities. Gender norms are a form of ‘meta norms’, which are different than
normative behavioural practices in that they are deeply entrenched in people’s culture and
identity (UNICEF, 2021a). Gender roles and expectations are shaped.
Multisectoral approach refers to combining efforts from different sectors to address the
needs of a child and their family in an integrated manner through appropriate and effective
convergence mechanisms.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
About the study

Evidence spanning various disciplines, including neuroscience, developmental
science and economics, underscores the significance of the early years of
life. This period is a crucial window of opportunity, representing the most vital
phase of a child's growth and development. Despite this compelling body
of evidence, children around the world, particularly the youngest ones, face
profound challenges.
Within the East Asia and Pacific region, a staggering 40.5 million children
younger than 5 years are at risk of poor development and facing significant
difficulties for accessing adequate services to survive, thrive, learn and develop
to their maximum potential. Notable progress was achieved in the region prior
to the COVID-19 pandemic in reducing the percentage of children at risk of poor
development (due to stunting, extreme poverty and other factors), from 40 per
cent to 34.2 per cent. The pandemic exacerbated the ongoing challenges and
created new obstacles to progress in the early childhood development (ECD)
space (Lu et al., 2020).
In the context of addressing these challenges, support for caregivers in

providing nurturing care during the early childhood period through parenting
programmes can pave the way for a more favourable developmental trajectory
for both children and society. This report maps the landscape of ECD parenting
programmes in East Asia and the Pacific,1 thus providing insights for guiding
future initiatives geared towards strengthening the support for young children
and their caregivers.
Study method
This study mapped 52 ECD parenting programmes in 15 countries that cater to
families with children aged 0–8 years. To facilitate this exercise, a conceptual
framework was developed to provide direction for the mapping process.
The framework follows the Supply-Enabling Environment-Demand (SEED)™
model and revolves around understanding how ECD parenting programmes
are supported and implemented in the region by investigating three aspects:
(a) enabling policy environment and governance mechanisms; (b) supply; and
(c) demand for ECD parenting programmes.
1
This includes Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia,
Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-
Leste, Vanuatu and Viet Nam.
Executive Summary 9
Enabling policy environment and governance mechanisms

• Policy and legislative framework
• Governance mechanisms
• Financing and funding mechanisms
• Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms
Supply
• Focus and scope of the parenting programmes
• Implementation in terms of delivery modalities,
financing and workforce of the ECD parenting
programmes.
Demand
• Access to parenting programmes
The mapping process involved a combination of data-collection methods: desk review, online
survey and in-depth interviews. Only ongoing or prospective ECD parenting programmes
and initiatives that have been scaled up or shown readiness for scale-up were included in
the study.
FINDINGS
Enabling policy environment and governance mechanisms for

ECD parenting programmes in the region
Establishing an enabling policy environment and governance mechanisms

for implementing parenting programmes is essential because it ensures
that such initiatives are effectively coordinated, financed, regulated and
implemented.
Policy and legislative framework

In the context of having an enabling policy provision, the findings from the
study indicate encouraging progress in the implementation of maternity
leave policies across the 13 countries. Many countries have also established
supportive measures for breastfeeding during work hours and several
provide either universal or targeted child grants. However, a critical gap
persists, with only seven countries recognizing the importance of paternity
leave rights.
Governance mechanisms
In terms of structures and processes in place to regulate, coordinate
and oversee these parenting-support initiatives, the ECD parenting
programmes are led primarily by the social protection and welfare sector,
followed by ministries responsible for women, children and family affairs
as well as the education sector. While there is a lead ministry or sector,
parenting programmes are often implemented through a collaboration
of multiple sectors. For instance, the Ministry of Education, Youth and
Sport supports Cambodia’s Nurturing Care Parenting Programme and
the Ministry of Women’s Affairs implements the Positive Parenting
Programme, with support from the Ministry of Interior. In Viet Nam, the
Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has engaged several other
ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Health, the Ministry
of Education and Training and the Fatherland Front, in the design and
implementation of the Integrated Early Childhood Development scheme.
In Myanmar, the Early Childhood Intervention Programme was initially
designed and is still implemented in collaboration with 11 ministries:
the Ministry of Health and Sport provides medical social workers and
physiotherapists as part of a transdisciplinary professional team, while
the Ministry of Education provides psychologists and the Ministry of
Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement provides ECD teachers.
Financing
Approximately one third of the 52 ECD parenting programmes covered
by this mapping receive financial support from the government to
facilitate their implementation. Additionally, several programmes have
benefited from backing by multiple funding sources. For instance, in
Cambodia, the Positive Parenting Programme and the Nurturing Care
Parenting Programme receive joint funding from local governments and
development partners like UNICEF and other organizations.
Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms

The findings indicate that fewer than one third of the programmes
reported engaging in regular internal monitoring. Another one third utilized
formative evaluations, pre- and post-programme phase questionnaires or
endline surveys. Only four of the 52 mapped programmes underwent
evaluation through randomized controlled trials.
Executive Summary 11
Supply of ECD parenting programmes in the region
Focus and scope of the parenting programmes

Nearly half of the mapped programmes are selective, targeting
families at risk of developmental challenges, while a third of them are
universal, serving all families regardless of child development status.
Two programmes offer tiered support that provides diverse levels of
prevention strategies catering to families with varying degrees of risk.
Most programmes focus on caregivers of children aged from birth up to 5

or 6 years, while approximately a fifth of them cover all ECD phases, from
birth to 8 years old. More than half have integrated all five components
of the Nurturing Care Framework,2 with some programmes specifically
addressing violence against children. Around one fifth of the programmes
have extended their scope to attend to parents’ mental health and well-being.
Implementation modalities
Most programmes have utilized group formats, while approximately a third
of them has provided personalized parenting support through home visits,
often combining individual and group-based interventions. Digitalization
has been incorporated into about a quarter of the programmes (across
eight countries), employing such methods as automated text messaging
and mobile applications.
Health and nutrition sectors are commonly used as the primary entry point
for ECD parenting programmes in the region, while some programmes
operate within preschool settings and identify participants through
the education sector. Other programmes are embedded within social
protection measures. Additionally, families have been reached through
non-government and civil society organizations, community leadership or
faith-based organizations.
Approximately half of the programmes involve interested individuals or

paraprofessionals as programme facilitators who deliver the intervention’s
activities. Practitioners affiliated with the health sector are frequently the
facilitators, while teachers within the education sector implement several
preschool-based parenting programmes. In terms of the training these
professionals received, fewer than half of the mapped programmes
provide entry-level training, refresher training and/or ongoing supervision
to programme facilitators. Entry training is often conducted using a
cascade model, whereby trainers are trained and then they disseminate
the training to front-line workers. Most programmes provide trainees with
a manual containing the programme's content and delivery strategies.
2
The Nurturing Care Framework is a global framework to promote early childhood
development. The framework offers national governments a road map for strategic
action to strengthen public policies, programmes and services to ensure children’s good
health and nutrition, protect them from threats, support responsive care and promote
opportunities for early learning. The framework builds upon state-of-the art evidence of
how child development unfolds and of the effective policies and interventions that can
improve early childhood development.
Demand and access to ECD parenting programmes in

the region
Most of the programmes are delivered in mother tongue, while

approximately a fifth of the programmes incorporate other cultural
considerations, such as reflecting traditional culture or local religious
and spiritual practices.
Regarding disability inclusion, one programme is designed for families

of children with disabilities, while two other programmes offer disability
or developmental screening and referral for additional support.
In terms of male engagement, three programmes incorporate content

to encourage male involvement in caregiving, while three others
employ targeted recruitment strategies to increase male participation.
GAPS AND CHALLENGES

The following table outlines the critical areas in the ECD parenting programmes where
essential elements are lacking or inadequately addressed. It also highlights the underlying
reasons for these gaps, underscoring the challenges that must be addressed to successfully
implement the programmes.
GAPS CHALLENGES
Lack of enabling policy environment Slow policy response:

and governance structures: Despite the growing interest and
The region lacks sufficient legislative presence of ECD policies and plans,
frameworks, family-friendly policies, the adoption and implementation of
dedicated budgets and efficient these policies in the region have been
coordination mechanisms, all of slow. This is due to various challenges,
which are essential for fostering such as coordination issues, limited
the successful implementation of enforcement mechanisms, variations
parenting programmes. in understanding, lack of human
resources, financial constraints and
competing priorities.
Limited use and generation of Limited research and evaluation

evidence: The region faces gaps efforts: Insufficient focus on
due to the lack of development or conducting rigorous research and
selection of programmes that are evaluation of parenting programmes
based on evidence, as well as limited might be the result of limited funding,
routine monitoring and evaluation of technical expertise or organizational
ECD parenting programmes. Only a priorities.
few programmes have undergone a
rigorous evaluation.
GAPS CHALLENGES
Limited focus on violence Lack of a whole-of-government

prevention, parents’ mental health approach: Providing nurturing care for
and gender responsiveness: Many young children requires collaboration
ECD parenting programmes in the across sectors. However, achieving
region lack components addressing such collaboration is challenging due
violence against children and to the lack of a government structure
inadequately support caregivers’ that fosters and coordinates parenting
emotional well-being and mental initiatives across different sectors.
health. And they have limited focus on
promoting positive gender socialization
through gender-transformative
parenting. Nor do they adequately
address the links between violence
against children and violence against
women.
Lack of tiered support: Only a limited Resource constraints: Implementing

number of countries have adopted a a tiered support system requires
tiered approach by providing multiple additional resources, including funding,
levels of prevention strategies that personnel and capacity-building
cater to families at different levels of efforts, which may pose challenges for
risk. countries with limited resources.
Limited incorporation of cultural Reduced cultural relevance: Limited

beliefs, values and traditions: Many consideration to the specific cultural
of the programmes are primarily needs and values of the families can
delivered in the mother tongue, which lead programmes to face challenges
is a positive step towards inclusivity. in connecting with the community
However, they may not fully consider and achieving their goals of fostering
the diverse cultural beliefs, values and positive outcomes for children.
traditions of the target families and This may ultimately lead to reduced
communities. engagement and impact.
OPPORTUNITIES
Despite the difficulties and challenges, several opportunities have been identified that can
be leveraged to promote ECD parenting programmes in the region.
A regional momentum in delivering parenting interventions: There is a regional momentum

in parenting policies and support, which is demonstrated by the emphasis on parenting
interventions in national plans and laws in an increasing number of countries.
UNICEF advocacy in ECD parenting support: Parenting support is recognized as critical by

UNICEF in promoting positive child outcomes and reducing vulnerability in the region. The
UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, with its country offices, provides technical
assistance, advocates for evidence-based parenting support and implements innovative
methods to reach and support caregivers, which it did even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guidelines and reports have been developed to inform the design and implementation of
ECD parenting programmes. UNICEF recognizes the role that parenting has in promoting a
safe and loving environment for children and thus actively works with other United Nations
agencies on cross-sectoral approaches to ending violence against children and violence
against women. UNICEF works with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
on matters related to parenting and early childhood education. The ASEAN Regional Plan
of Action on the Elimination of Violence Against Children and the ASEAN Guidelines for a
Non-Violent Approach to [the] Nurture, Care and Development of Children in All Settings
recognizes that “one of the steps to prevent and eventually eliminate violence against
children is to adopt a non-violent approach to [the] nurture, care and development of children
in all settings”.3
Declining birth rate in the region: The declining birth rate in the region necessitates policies
and programmes that support parenting and promote shared parenting responsibilities
between men and women, thereby empowering and supporting all genders in their roles
as caregivers.
Emerging support for caregivers’ mental health and well-being: There is growing interest
and support for caregivers’ mental health and well-being in the region, as evidenced by such
initiatives as the incorporation of mental health support in parenting programmes and the
development of the UNICEF Caring for the Caregiver package.
Promoting community-centric approaches to service delivery: Interested individuals or

paraprofessionals who are adequately trained and supported can successfully implement
parenting interventions. There is an ongoing shift towards community-based approaches,
which presents a unique opportunity for the region to tap into the pivotal role that front-line
engagement and capacity-building can have for addressing potential human resource gaps
in parenting service provision. In leveraging and fostering a community-driven approach,
there is opportunity to enhance the impact and reach of parenting interventions.
Increasing availability of evidence: There is a growing body of high-quality evidence of

parenting interventions in the region. This evidence needs to be strengthened further to
expand the understanding of outcomes and to inform the selection, adaptation, delivery and
scaling up of evidence-based parenting programmes in the future.
3
See <https://asean.org/book/the-asean-guidelines-for-a-non-violent-approach-to-nurture-care-and-development-
of-children-in-all-settings/>.
© UNICEF/UN050098/Pirozzi
RECOMMENDATIONS
The recommendations from the mapping are organized under the conceptual framework of
enabling policy environment, supply and demand in the following tables. Some suggestions
for priority actions that governments and partners may need to focus on for implementing
the recommendations effectively are highlighted. These suggestions are vital for shaping
the way forward for supporting and enhancing the future programming and implementation
efforts at the regional as well as country levels.
Recommendations for creating enabling policy environment and strengthening

governance structures for ECD parenting programmes
ACTION TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON

RECOMMENDATION THE RECOMMENDATION
Government Partners Future Research
Strengthen the Conduct a Collaborate with Conduct studies

enabling policy comprehensive governments to assess the
environment for review of existing to advocate for effectiveness of
effective programme policies related to the prioritization parenting policies
implementation. parenting support of parenting and programmes
and identify gaps interventions in and identify
and opportunities national agendas good practices
for further and policy actions. and areas for
improvement. improvement.

Enhance evidence- Strengthen data- Support capacity- Explore innovative

based decision- collection systems building initiatives ways of using
making through to capture relevant with government technology for
robust data collection information officials and data collection
and management on parenting policymakers to and management
mechanisms interventions' enhance their to enhance the
for programme outcomes and understanding efficiency and
relevance, impacts. and knowledge accuracy of
effectiveness and of evidence- information.
implementation. based parenting
practices and of
maintaining robust
data-collection
and management
systems.
Use data to inform Assist governments Investigate the
evidence-based in conducting long-term impacts
decision-making and impact evaluations of parenting
make necessary and research interventions
adjustments to assess the on children's
to parenting effectiveness development and
programmes for of parenting well-being. This
better outcomes. interventions. should involve
delving further
into the nuanced
aspects of impact
assessment
to gain a more
thorough
understanding
of the sustained
benefits and
potential areas
for improvement
in these
interventions.

Maximize cross- Leverage the Facilitate Study successful

sectoral collaboration synergy of comprehensive models of
by harnessing the multisectoral multisectoral cross-sectoral
potential of the structures to engagements collaboration
whole-of-government seamlessly that go beyond in parenting
approach. integrate and dialogues to support from
enhance parenting include shared other regions
as a crucial capacity-building, or countries.
component for collaborative work Promote the
effective policy planning and the sharing of
implementation. identification of experiences
strategic entry within the region
points. to build on efforts
to date.
Develop joint Encourage Research and
action plans to and facilitate share the
ensure synergy and partnerships among experiences
coordination among different partners of the role of
different sectors to strengthen the community
in implementing collective impact engagement
parenting of parenting and participation
programmes. interventions. in promoting
cross-sectoral
coordination
for parenting
interventions.
Recommendations for supporting the effective supply of parenting programmes

Build on a tiered Establish a tiered Collaborate with Research effective

support system to support system that governments models of tiered support
cater to families with offers concurrent to design and systems in parenting
different levels of access to both implement tiered- interventions and
risk. generalized and support systems identify good practices
specialized that align with for implementation.
services that allow national policies and
families to address priorities.
their specific
needs and risks
comprehensively.
Allocate resources Support the Investigate the cost-

to ensure the pre- and in- effectiveness of tiered
equitable access service training interventions to inform
to parenting and capacity- resource allocation
support for building of service strategies.
vulnerable and at- providers to
risk families. deliver appropriate
interventions at
different tiers.
Leverage the use of Identify and utilize Support Research successful

delivery platforms existing public governments examples of integrating
for enhanced reach, service delivery in mapping parenting support
ownership and platforms (health delivery platforms into service delivery
sustainability of clinics, schools, and assessing platforms from other
programmes. community their suitability regions or countries.
centres) to for integrating
integrate parenting
parenting-support interventions.
services.
Foster Provide technical Evaluate the

collaboration expertise in effectiveness and
among ministries adapting and efficiency of utilizing
and sectors integrating different delivery
to maximize parenting support platforms for parenting
the utilization into various interventions.
of existing service delivery
infrastructure and channels.
resources.

Harness the Explore and Provide technical Investigate the

potential of invest in digital support and effectiveness and
innovative technology funding for the scalability of digital
localized delivery solutions (mobile development and technology in reaching
modalities, including apps, online deployment of diverse caregiver
digital solutions platforms) to innovative digital populations.
for continuous deliver parenting solutions for
caregiver support
resources and parenting support.
during a crisis
support.
like the COVID-19
pandemic. Ensure Monitor and Study the long-term
accessibility and evaluate the impact of innovative
inclusivity of impact of digital delivery modalities on
digital platforms technology caregivers' parenting
for caregivers on enhancing practices and children's
with limited caregiver support outcomes.
technological and programme
literacy or effectiveness.
resources.
Strengthen the Establish a Provide technical Study the impact of

capacities of continuous assistance in supportive supervision
facilitators by and supportive establishing and mentoring on
leveraging the supervision and mentorship and facilitators' self-
use of continuous mentoring system peer-support efficacy.
and supportive to support facilitators networks for
supervision and in their role. facilitators.
mentoring-support
mechanisms. Recognize and Support regular Conduct an
incentivize evaluations assessment to identify
facilitators' and feedback and understand the
contributions mechanisms to competencies of
to promote ensure the quality programme facilitators
motivation and of facilitators' that significantly
retention. performance. impact caregiver
engagement and
programme outcomes.
This can provide
valuable insights
into the specific
skills and capacities
essential for guiding
the development of
targeted training and
ultimately enhance the
effectiveness of the
overall initiative.
Recommendations for promoting access to ECD parenting programmes by creating

demand for quality interventions

Adopt a Develop and Support Conduct research to

comprehensive implement governments in understand the root
approach to address comprehensive integrating violence causes and risk factors
violence issues and policies and prevention and of violence and mental
parents’ mental programmes, mental health health challenges in
health in parenting integrating components into parenting contexts.
interventions. violence prevention existing parenting
and parents’ interventions by
mental health recognizing the links
within parenting between violence
interventions. against children and
Recognize that a violence against
mere addition of women.
a module may not
suffice, considering
the complexity of
behaviour change.
A detailed plan
that goes beyond
knowledge-sharing
and encompasses
multifaceted
strategies
for effective
behavioural
transformation is
crucial.
Invest in pre- and Collaborate Study the long-

in-service training with relevant term impact of
and capacity- stakeholders comprehensive
building for a to conduct approaches on
range of service awareness reducing violence and
providers learn campaigns that promoting parents’
to identify and promote positive mental well-being.
respond effectively parenting practices
to violence and and mental health.
mental health
concerns.

Promote inclusivity Establish or Provide financial Evaluate the impact of

when expanding expand upon and technical inclusive approaches
access and community assistance to on reach, engagement
engagement of outreach implement and effectiveness of a
integrated services. programmes community-based programme.
to engage and initiatives that
involve traditionally target marginalized
excluded groups in families.
parenting support
initiatives, in
particular children
with disabilities.
Integrate gender- Collaborate with Leverage trainings Conduct longitudinal

transformative experts and at the community studies to analyse the
approaches organizations level to further sustained impact of
into parenting to design and promote gender- gender-transformative
programmes to implement gender- transformative parenting programmes
foster gender transformative parenting. on children's
equality and parenting development and well-
shared parenting
policies and being.
responsibilities.
programmes that
address specific
challenges.
Collectively work Facilitate Evaluate the

with the whole knowledge integration of gender-
of government, exchange between transformative
civil society and countries and parenting principles
United Nations organizations into national policies
agencies to launch to disseminate and the resultant
campaigns to successful changes in gender
inform and engage approaches and dynamics.
the public on the strategies.
importance of
gender-responsive
parenting
and shared
responsibilities.
© UNICEF/UNI358748/Oo
Background 23
1 BACKGROUND
1.1 Status of early childhood development in East
Asia and the Pacific
Early childhood, a period ranging from birth up to 8 years of age, is the
most critical stage of development, with profound and lasting impacts on
the later stages of an individual’s life. Despite this recognition and more
than eight years since the adoption of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), there are still areas that require significant efforts to
improve the status of early childhood development (ECD) and fulfil our
SDG commitments. Globally, 43 per cent of all children younger than 5
years are at risk of not reaching their full developmental potential due
to poverty, poor nutrition and a lack of access to basic services and
early learning opportunities (Black et al., 2017). This is compounded by
wars and conflicts, affecting one in six children (Strømme et al., 2022).
In the East Asia and Pacific region, an estimated 40.5 million children
younger than 18 are at risk of poor development. They face significant
challenges to accessing adequate services to survive, thrive, learn
and develop to their maximum potential. Notable progress has been
achieved in the region to reduce the percentage of children at risk of
poor development (due to stunting, extreme poverty and other factors),
from 40 per cent in 2002 to 34.2 per cent in 2010 (Lu et al., 2020).
Despite this progress, the region is confronted with challenges that
require urgent action to maximize children’s developmental potential
and family well-being (Lu et al., 2020).
Low birth weight remains a concern in the region born, with approximately
13 per cent of newborns with low birth weight (UNICEF EAPRO, 2022).
Children also suffer from nutritional deficiencies: approximately 11
per cent of them are stunted, indicating a lack of proper growth and
development, and 4 per cent of them are wasted, indicating acute
malnutrition (UNICEF, WHO and World Bank, 2020). An estimated 16
million children (19 per cent of the 84.2 million children aged 3–5 years
in the region) are not attending any type of early childhood development
programme (daycare, creche, kindergarten, etc.) (UIS, 2019), and an
estimated 50 per cent of children in the region experience some form
of violence, including physical, sexual and emotional abuse (UNICEF
EAPRO, 2021). Mental health challenges among young children and their
caregivers are prevalent, with caregivers often experiencing stress and
lacking adequate support for their own mental well-being (WHO, 2023).
Many of the challenges predated the COVID-19 pandemic but the

responses to the crisis exacerbated those challenges across all sectors
and greatly impacted young children and their families in East Asia and the Pacific. The
disruption of ECD services (including vaccinations, home visits, kindergartens and preschools)
in all 27 countries severely threatened the progress made towards children’s development,
especially in areas related to health and well-being. For instance, access to and utilization of
health services for routine services and illness treatment were significantly impacted in Viet
Nam, where the number of children younger than 5 years visiting community health centres
dropped by 48 per cent in 2020. And in the Philippines, an estimated 14 per cent of children
younger than 5 years became sick during the lockdown, yet, of them, only an estimated
62 per cent visited a health centre. The detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
disproportionately affected the most vulnerable households, including those with children
living with a disability, impoverished families, ethnic minorities and refugees. These impacts
have resulted in an elevated risk of morbidity and mortality in children while further limiting
their already diminished opportunities to achieve their full developmental potential.
1.2 Early childhood development, caregivers and parenting

interventions
Early childhood represents the critical phase of development, characterized by rapid
brain development. Investment in these formative years can protect children from
the negative consequences of adversities and ensure that their rights are upheld.
Such investment forms the cornerstone of individual health (including mental health),
holistic development, education and vocational attainment, as well as contributing
to the wider societal benefits of economic prosperity and social cohesion (Richter
et al., 2017; Sayre et al., 2015), whereas missing out on this window of opportunity
can contribute to suboptimal child development, inequality and poverty across the
life course.
Advances in neuroscience have highlighted the significance of a child's environment

in scaffolding their development during the early years (Shonkoff et al., 2012). Within
this context, parents are the architects of the home environment they are responsible
for, creating nurturing and stimulating surroundings that foster optimal growth and
learning (Black et al., 2017). They are supposed to provide the foundation for secure
attachments, engage in responsive and interactive caregiving practices and create
opportunities for exploration and play. During the pandemic, many families with young
children, particularly mothers and those with pre-existing mental health conditions,
experienced heightened risk for stress and poor mental health as a result of the
social isolation, employment instability and childcare centre closures (UNICEF and
SEAMEO, 2021). Lacking accessible childcare options, some parents were forced
to choose between working or caring for their children. In Mongolia, for example,
more than 20 per cent of families in a 2020 survey reported having to limit work
obligations to care for their children, from reducing their work hours to resigning
from a job. Families also reported leaving their children unaccompanied and at risk,
with 11 per cent of households reportedly leaving children with other minors and
2 per cent leaving them alone (SICA, 2020). Across countries, parents reported
increased stress and anxiety throughout the course of the pandemic (UNICEF and
SEAMEO, 2021).
Background 25
It is thus imperative to empower parents and caregivers to better fulfil their roles
to enable nurturing care, which encompasses several interrelated factors, including
parental sensitivity and responsiveness towards a child’s health and nutritional needs,
parents’ capacity to safeguard children from any harm or threat and positive parent–
child interactions that facilitate early stimulation and learning (WHO et al., 2018).
Parenting programmes designed to foster constructive parenting behaviours, attitudes
and knowledge have gained global momentum and increased recognition due to their
significant impact on promoting child development and protection. Extensive research
has established a strong evidence base on such programmes, demonstrating their
potential to cultivate children’s social skills, motor abilities, communication and
cognitive development. These programmes have proven effective in strengthening
parent–child attachment, improving their interactions and promoting positive parenting
and parents’ mental well-being (WHO, 2023a; Jeong et al., 2021; Benzies et al., 2013;
Britto et al., 2015; Geeraert et al., 2004).
Benefits of such interventions have been observed among children living in high- and
low-resource settings (WHO, 2023a; Knerr, Gardner and Cluver, 2013) and children living
with or without disabilities (Fang et al., 2023; Fang, Barlow and Zhang, 2022).
1.3 Rationale for conducting this mapping study

The rationale for conducting this mapping stems from the recognition of the pivotal role
that parenting programmes have for enhancing parenting skills, improving parent–child
relationships and promoting positive child outcomes. This is aligned with UNICEF’s mission
to provide countries with evidence-based technical guidance to support parents and
caregivers in facilitating optimal child development, including those who are most vulnerable
(UNICEF, 2017). It also aligns with the Management Plan (2022–2025) of the UNICEF East
Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO), which aims to strengthen regional capacity to
provide ECD and parenting support. It also is in line with the United Nations Convention on
the Rights of the Child (articles 5, 18(1) and 27) (UNICEF, 1989), as well as SDG targets 2.2,
3.2, 4.2 and 16.2, various international guidelines and campaigns promoting early childhood
development and protection, such as the Nurturing Care Framework (2018), the Care for
Child Development approach (2012), UNICEF’s Early Moments Matter (2017), the INSPIRE
strategies (2016), UNICEF’s Programme Guidance for ECD (2017) and UNICEF’s Vision for
Elevating Parenting (2021). This study builds upon the groundwork of the 2019 mapping of
parenting programmes that UNICEF EAPRO conducted to forge a more comprehensive
overview of ECD parenting programmes within the region.
To provide evidence-based support to countries to strengthen their existing efforts

and systems, UNICEF conducted this study to understand the landscape of parenting
interventions. The findings from this review will be instrumental in UNICEF's efforts to
advocate for universal access to parenting support, with a focus on responsive caregiving
for child health and well-being.
© UNICEF/UN0248149/Noorani
Study Design 27
2 STUDY DESIGN
2.1 Objectives
The East Asia and Pacific region has experienced a rise in parenting
programmes designed to promote holistic ECD for children from birth
up to 8 years old. The mapping study had the following objectives:
• Map the ECD parenting programmes in the region – both

UNICEF and non-UNICEF supported – to understand their
institutionality, approaches, core content and how they are
implemented.
• Identify and document case studies on effective parenting
programmes to share practical strategies from different
contexts.
• Propose strategic recommendations for strengthening
institutionality and scaling up the existing and new programmes
in the region.
2.2 Conceptual framework
The conceptual approach of this mapping study was grounded on the

principle that child development is a right of children. It thus aligned with
the rationale of the United Nations core programming principles: human
rights, gender equality and women's empowerment; sustainability and
resilience; and accountability.
The Supply-Enabling Environment-Demand (SEED)™ model

(EngenderHealth, 2011) is a tool for assessing institutional and
programmatic strengths and weaknesses in delivering large-scale
family planning interventions and was used to guide the mapping.
Based on this model, the study looked at three aspects:
a. Enabling policy environment and governance mechanisms:

(including family-friendly policies, social protection measures,
lead ministries and financing mechanisms) for parenting
services.
b. Supply: the content design and implementation, especially in
terms of delivery modalities, financing and the workforce of
ECD parenting programmes and initiatives.
c. Demand: promotion of equal access.
Enabling policy environment and governance mechanisms

• Policy and legislative framework
• Governance mechanisms
• Financing and funding mechanisms
• Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms
Supply
• Focus and scope of the parenting programmes
• Implementation in terms of delivery modalities,
financing and workforce of the ECD parenting
programmes.
Demand
• Access to parenting programmes
Within the three focus areas, the study aimed to understand the opportunities and challenges
for strengthening parenting support in the region, with the ultimate goal of increasing families’
access to quality programmes.
2.3 Selection criteria for mapping ECD parenting programmes

The selection of ECD parenting programmes was based on the following criteria.
Beneficiaries: The programmes should be available to families of children aged 0–8

years, with the primary aim to promote early childhood development, improve parenting
practices and/or address violence against children.
Scalability: ECD parenting programmes that have been scaled up or those that exhibit
potential for scaling up are priorities. Programmes that have limited implementation or
lack effort to increase their reach or impact are not to be considered. Programmes that
show readiness for scaling up will be judged for inclusion based on large reach and
scale, partnership development, stable funding, integration into existing service systems,
evidence-building and evaluations and cost-effectiveness.
Geographic scope: The programmes should be implemented in one of the East Asia and
Pacific countries.4
Implementation support: The programmes are not necessarily supported by UNICEF.
The focus is to involve a range of initiatives and interventions within the region.
4
The 27 UNICEF countries in the East and Pacific region: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea,
Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Niue, Nauru,
Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Study Design 29
These selection criteria were applied to ensure that the review considers programmes
with the potential for scaling up, relevance to the population of interest and geographical
representation within the East Asia and Pacific region.
2.4 Methods of data collection

The study used a combination of methods: online survey, desk review and in-depth interviews
with stakeholders for case studies.
An online survey (see Annex D) was designed to collect data and assist in the identification
of relevant resources, potential programmes and participants for case study interviews.
Fourteen UNICEF ECD focal point contacts in the East Asia and Pacific country offices
were purposively sampled, and snowball sampling5 was used to further distribute the survey
to contacts shared by the respondents. The survey included 21–31 items and took 20–30
minutes to complete, depending on the number of programmes being reported. The questions
were designed around research themes, including participant information, programme
details, enabling environment and equal access. Respondents were invited to share related
documents and information sources within the survey. The survey was converted into an
online questionnaire using MikeCRM for remote distribution. Prior to launching, the survey
was pilot-tested in Pakistan and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The ECD focal points
completed the draft survey and participated in a semi-structured debrief afterwards. The
survey was finalized based on the pilot results and launched on 15 September 2022. The
survey remained open until 23 October 2022.
A desk review of policy documents and frameworks, reports and reviews of ECD parenting
programmes and the enabling environment in the region was conducted. Those documents
and guidelines are listed in Annex A. Electronic searches were also conducted on Google
Scholar to locate the most recent information and programme documentation. Additionally,
websites of organizations active in the areas of ECD and parenting, international repositories
and parenting initiatives were investigated.
In-depth interviews were conducted for the case studies. Based on the desk review, online
survey results and consultations with UNICEF experts, Cambodia and Timor-Leste were
selected for case study interviews. The interviews aimed to develop a more comprehensive
understanding of the ECD parenting programmes and the enabling environment reported
in the survey. A semi-structured interview schedule (see also Annex D) was developed to
guide the interviews by adapting the SEED model to align with the scope of this review.
The interview schedule encompassed four topics: (a) the organization’s support for parenting
services, (b) the enabling environment, (c) the supply of parenting support and (d) the
demand for parenting support. Open-ended questions and follow-up probes were used to
explore each theme in detail. Questions were tailored to the expertise and role of each
participant, based on the survey answers. As the interviews progressed, the questions were
5
Snowball sampling is a method whereby researchers start with a small group of people who meet certain criteria
and then ask them to recommend others who might also fit the criteria or have relevant insights. As the process
continues, each new participant can refer more participants, leading to a growing network of participants.
refined based on the participants' feedback. The interviews, conducted online via Microsoft
Teams, lasted 1–1.5 hours. Some interviews involved multiple interviewees and review of
materials. The data were analysed using a framework approach, following a pre-existing
coding framework that was structured around the three aspects of interest: the enabling
environment, programme content and implementation and equal access.
To ensure uniformity and to monitor data collection across all sources, an Excel-based
standardized form (see Annex C) was developed. The case study reports are published
separately from this primary report.
© UNICEF/UN0697912/Oo
Findings 31
3 FINDINGS
The main characteristics of the enabling policy environments, supply of
and demand for parenting support in the 15 countries in East Asia and
the Pacific are highlighted here, along with features of each programme.
Enabling policy environment and

governance mechanisms for ECD
parenting programmes in the region
The enabling environment includes interrelated

conditions that enable or facilitate the
development of parenting support systems,
including policies, data, plans, leadership,
coordination and financing. Establishing an
enabling policy environment and governance
mechanisms for implementing a parenting
programme is essential because it ensures
that such initiatives are effectively coordinated,
financed, regulated and implemented.
3.1 Policy and legislative framework: Family-friendly

policies supportive of parenting
Parental leave and supported breastfeeding
In the context of having an enabling policy provision that especially
protects working mothers’ entitlement to paid or partially paid maternity
leave, the findings show encouraging progress in the implementation of
maternity leave policies across 13 countries. However, the duration
of maternity leave varies, from six weeks in Papua New Guinea to six
months in Viet Nam.
Many countries also have established supportive measures for

breastfeeding during work hours. For instance, in Viet Nam, the Labour
Code requires employers to provide nursing mothers with a minimum of
60 minutes per day to care for a child younger than 12 months (Socialist
Republic of Viet Nam National Assembly, 2019). In the Philippines, the
Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009 requires that new
mothers be provided with a total of 40 minutes of break time each
day (Congress of the Philippines, 2009). According to China’s Special
Provisions on Labour Protection of Women Workers (State Council of
the People’s Republic of China, 2012), female employees are entitled
to lactation breaks of a minimum of one hour per day during working
hours. Some East Asia and Pacific countries have launched initiatives to
promote breastfeeding, such as China’s Breastfeeding Promotion Action Plan (2021–2025),

which aims to increase the rates of exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months
of a child’s life and advocate for supported breastfeeding in the workplace (NHC, 2021).
Cambodia’s Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, rolled out by the Ministry of Health, was
implemented to improve the breastfeeding rate and child well-being by improving the quality
of services in eight hospitals and health facilities in Siem Reap Province (WHO, 2009).
The recognition of paternity leave rights is increasing in East Asia and Pacific countries. For
example, Malaysia and the Philippines provide seven days of paternity leave. Male employees
in Timor-Leste are entitled to five days of paid paternity leave, and men in Indonesia can
take two days. In Viet Nam, the length of paternity leave varies between 5 and 14 days,
depending on the birth type and number of children. In China, there are no unified paternity
leave days in the national legislation; municipal or provincial governments determine the
policy on paternity leave, with local regulations offering anywhere between 10 and 30 days
of leave. A significant gap remains, considering only seven countries in the region recognize
the importance of paternity leave rights.
Child grants
Several countries provide universal child grants. For example, the Child Money Programme,
which is financed through the Human Development Fund, is the largest universal cash
transfer programme in Mongolia in terms of both coverage and budget. It was launched in
2005 as a means-tested programme for families living in poverty (and households with three
or more children). It became available (conditional upon school enrolment) to all children in
2006, and the monthly allowance increased significantly in 2007. In 2012, the conditionality
was removed, paving the way for universal coverage (ILO, 2016). The programme benefited
more than 1 million children across the country as of 2014 (NSO, 2014). However, children of
migrant workers are not covered, which remains a major gap of the programme.
Several countries provide targeted child grants. For instance, in partnership with UNICEF
and local NGOs, the Thai Government implemented the Child Support Grant programme, a
non-contributory unconditional cash transfer for families living in poverty with children aged
younger than 1 year. Since its launch in 2015, the programme has evolved and expanded
to cover families of children younger than 6 years and adjusted the income threshold to
align with the National Welfare Card, which is Thailand’s largest cash transfer and financial
inclusion scheme. As of 2019, more than 1 million children younger than 6 years, or 23 per
cent of the child population, had benefited. The programme was implemented in tandem
with evidence-generation and routine monitoring and evaluation to forecast budgets and
inform future expansion of the grant (UNICEF Thailand, 2020).
The Government of Indonesia launched the Family Hope Programme in 2007 for impoverished
households, especially those with pregnant women and children, female-headed households
and people living with disabilities. Eligible households receive a monthly cash transfer, the
amount of which depends on the area of residence and the number of children. It also provides
access to maternal and child health and nutrition services and promotes child education and
care. As of 2020, more than 1 million families had benefited (Syamsulhakim and Khadijah,
2021). Research shows that the programme has contributed to the improvement of child
health, nutrition and education attainment (Cahyadi et al., 2020; Alatas, 2011).
Findings 33
In Myanmar, the Maternal and Child Cash Transfer programme delivers cash transfers to
women during pregnancy and mothers of children younger than 2 years in selected rural
areas, with the aim of promoting child health and nutrition. The programme is operational
in 7 of the country’s 21 administrative subdivisions. A randomized controlled trial of the
programme in 2021 demonstrated evidence of a reduction in child stunting when combined
with a behavioural change intervention to improve knowledge and promote better nutrition
and hygiene practices among participants and the communities (Ragasa et al., 2021).
China has made unconditional targeted cash transfers available to orphaned children since
2010, de facto unattended children and children living in poverty since 2019 through its
Minimum Livelihood Guarantee Programme (also known as Dibao), which is one of the largest
social safety net schemes globally. In Viet Nam, financial support is provided through the
National Target Programme on Child Care and Protection to impoverished households with
children younger than 6 years, particularly those in remote and mountainous areas, belonging
to ethnic minorities and having a child with a disability. The programme aims to promote child
health and nutrition and ensure access to education and social services. Since 2018, Fiji has
implemented the Parenthood Assistance Payment Programme, which provides cash transfers
to new mothers with low household income for each newborn child registered with the Births,
Deaths and Marriages Office. The programme aims to alleviate the financial pressures of
parenthood and meet the needs of newborn babies (Government of Fiji, 2019).
3.2 Governance mechanisms

In terms of structures and processes in place to regulate, coordinate and oversee parenting-
support initiatives, ECD parenting programmes are led by the social protection and welfare
sector in multiple countries, such as the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion in Timor-
Leste, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in Viet Nam and the Ministry of
Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement in Myanmar. In some countries, ECD parenting
programmes are led by ministries in charge of women, children and family affairs, such as
the National Population and Family Planning Agency in Indonesia; the Ministry of Women,
Family and Community Development in Malaysia; and the Ministry of Women, Community
and Social Development in Samoa. Parenting programmes are also coordinated by the
education sector in some countries, such as the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport in
Cambodia, the Ministry of Education in Vanuatu and the Ministry of Education in Mongolia.
Although there is a lead ministry or sector, parenting programmes are often implemented
through collaboration with other ministries or sectors. For instance, Cambodia’s Nurturing
Care Parenting Programme is supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport while
the Positive Parenting Programme is implemented by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, with
support from the Ministry of Interior. In Viet Nam, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social
Affairs engages several ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Health, the Ministry
of Education and Training and the Fatherland Front, in the design and implementation of its
Integrated ECD scheme. In Myanmar, the Early Childhood Intervention programme was
initially designed and is implemented in collaboration with 11 ministries; among them, the
Ministry of Health and Sport provides medical social workers and physiotherapists who work
as part of a transdisciplinary professional team, while the Ministry of Education provides
psychologists and the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement provides ECD
teachers. Additionally, the General Administrative Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs
provides family data from communities. In Vanuatu, the Parenting Support Programme is
supported by a Core Technical Team consisting of specialists from the Ministry of Justice and
Community Service, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of
Finance, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Agriculture, with technical assistance
from development partners like UNICEF and Save the Children.
In China, Mongolia, Philippines and Thailand, multiple ministries take a role in overseeing
ECD parenting programmes. In China, the National Health Commission and the All-China
Women’s Federation collaborate to promote parenting support. They coordinate and organize
resources for the development of a comprehensive parenting service system. They assume
daily responsibilities for parenting services based on their respective roles and duties, with
additional support from other ministries, such as the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry
of Human Resources and Social Security.
In Thailand, the Ministry of Public Health is the lead in providing parenting services for children
aged 0–2 years through hospital-based services and home visits for pregnant and lactating
women, while parenting support can be accessed in the Family Development Centres
administered by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. In the Philippines,
parenting service delivery involves multiple government agencies and national councils.
For example, the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council is responsible for
coordinating the Family Support Programme while the Department of Social Welfare and
Development takes the lead in promoting the Parenting Effectiveness Service.
3.3 Financing
Approximately a third of the ECD parenting programmes reported receiving financial
support from the government to facilitate implementation. For instance, the funding for
the Parent Effectiveness Service in the Philippines is secured by law, which mandates that
the costs for conducting the programme be allocated from city or municipality budgets.
Similarly, the Integrated Programming on Positive Parenting in Indonesia, which was originally
funded by IKEA, is now integrated within the Family Hope Programme (a national conditional
cash transfer programme) and is financed through a government budget. The Parenting for
Lifelong Health for Young Children in Thailand is funded either by the central Government or
subdistrict administrative authorities.
Several programmes benefit from multiple funding sources. For instance, the Positive
Parenting Programme and the Nurturing Care Parenting Programme in Cambodia receive
joint funding from the local government and development partners, such as UNICEF. This
funding collaboration may vary in terms of scope, phase of development and implementation.
The Early Moments Matter on Mobile in Thailand receives a budget from the Government,
semi-government agencies (such as ThaiHealth) and international organizations (such as
UNICEF), depending on the delivery modality. The Nobody's Perfect Parenting Programme
in Viet Nam and the Community-based ECD Parenting Support programme in China were
supported by UNICEF during the pilot phase, with the programme scale-up financed by
factories in Viet Nam and local governments in China.
Findings 35
`3.4 Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms

Fewer than a third of the reviewed programmes – mainly in Cambodia, Indonesia,
Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste and China – reported engaging in regular internal
monitoring. Another third has used formative evaluations, pre- and post-intervention
assessment or an endline survey. Only four of the 52 programmes underwent evaluation
through a randomized control trial, including the Local Food Supplementation and
Psychosocial Stimulation In Indonesia (Helmizar et al., 2017), the Masayang Pamilya Para
sa Batang Pilipino (MaPa) Program in the Philippines (Lachman et al., 2021), the Parenting
for Lifelong Health for Young Children programme in Thailand and the integrated parenting
programme in China (Luo et al., 2019).
Supply of ECD parenting programmes in the region
This section provides an overview of the design and implementation of

various parenting support services across countries, with attention to
delivery methods and the workforce involved for the delivery of these
programmes.
3.5 Focus and scope of the parenting programmes

Programme context and target beneficiaries
Of the 52 reviewed programmes (shown below), more than half were found in only four
countries: 10 in Timor-Leste, eight in Thailand, six in Cambodia and five in Viet Nam.
Most of the programmes (among those with available data) focus on caregivers of children
aged from birth up to 5 or 6 years old, while approximately one fifth cover all ECD phases from
birth to 8 years old. Examples include the Cambodia Nurturing Care Parenting Programme
and the Vanuatu Parenting Support Programme. Ten other programmes cover the entire
1 1 1
Timor-Leste
1
1 Thailand
1
Cambodia
10 Viet Nam
2 Indonesia
3 Malaysia
Philippines
China
4
8 Myanmar
Lao PDR
4 Mongolia
Papua New Guinea
4 6 Samoa
5
Solomon Islands
Vanuatu
ECD age range, from birth to 8 years old, such as Viet Nam’s Nobody’s Perfect Programme.
Some programmes target exclusively children from birth to 3 years old, like the Timor-
Leste Mother’s Support Group (UNICEF EAPRO and Maestral, 2019) and the Save the
Children’s (Philippines) First Read Program (Kamel, Dogra and Castillo, 2019). Others are
designed for families with preschool-age children (3–6 years), such as the Keeping Families
Together and the 101 Positive Discipline Programme in Thailand. There are also several
programmes designed for a wider age range, such as from 2 to 9 years in the Naungan
Kasih Positive Parenting Programme in Malaysia (Lachman et al., 2023) and the Parenting
for Lifelong Health for Young Children programme in Thailand (McCoy et al., 2021) or birth
to 18 years in the Cambodia Positive Parenting Programme and the Timor-Leste Hametin
Família/Strengthening Families Parenting Programme.
Level of prevention
Four types of interventions emerged as common among the programmes with available
information on this aspect – universal, selective, indicated and tiered. These interventions
cater to different target groups based on their needs and risk levels:
Universal interventions are designed to benefit an entire population or community,

regardless of whether they are experiencing specific problems or challenges in parenting.
Selective interventions are aimed at a specific subgroup of parents or families who
may be at a higher risk for parenting challenges or have specific needs.
Indicated interventions are tailored for parents or families who are already facing
specific issues or challenges in their parenting role.
Tiered interventions involve a combination of the above three types – universal,
selective and indicated interventions – organized into a tiered system of support.
The following graph illustrates the distribution of these interventions across the region.
Nearly half of the programmes are selective, targeting families at risk of developmental
challenges, such as those living in poverty, rural and remote areas, marginalized communities
and minority groups. Examples of such programmes include the Love and Care for Every
Child in Lao PDR and the Nurturing Care Parenting Programme in Cambodia, which are
Universal
1
Selective
Indicated
2 Tiered
1 1
1
2 2
3 5 1 5
4
3 1 1
2 2
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Cambodia
China
Indonesia
Guinea
Lao PDR
Malaysia
Mongolia
Samoa
Thailand
Myanmar
Papua New
Solomon
Islands
Philippines
Timor-Leste
Vanuatu
Viet Nam
Findings 37
delivered to lower-income families. The MaPa Program focuses on vulnerable families who
are beneficiaries of the nationwide conditional cash transfer programme aimed at poverty
alleviation, called Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Lachman et al., 2021; Mamauag et
al., 2021). Plan International’s Parent Education Programme (UNICEF EAPRO and Maestral,
2019) and the Nobody’s Perfect Parenting Programme in Viet Nam target ethnic minorities.
Approximately one third of the programmes are universal – serving all families regardless
of child development status, such as the Family Support Programs led by the ECCD Council
of the Philippines, the preschool-based parenting sessions in Timor-Leste, the Positive
Discipline for Everyday Parenting in Samoa, the Hapi en Helti Pikini Initiative in Solomon
Islands and the Parenting Support Programme in Vanuatu.
The Early Childhood Intervention in Myanmar and the Family School sessions in Thailand
are the only programmes that are indicated – focusing on families of children with physical
or mental disabilities, including those with developmental delays, low birth weight and
malnutrition.
Two programmes offer tiered support that provides diverse levels of prevention strategies
catering to families with varying degrees of risk. The Cambodia Positive Parenting
Programme, which provides support to families with children aged up to 18 years old, is
a multilevel strategy that offers three tiers of parenting interventions tailored to the level
of risk of violence against the children: The first level provides universal positive parenting
messages for all parents in all settings; the second level offers selective interventions to
households where children are at risk of violence and/or separation; and the third level
offers specialized and intensive parenting support for households where children have
already experienced harm, including households where de-institutionalized children will be
reintegrated.
The Hametin Familia (Strengthening Families) in Timor-Leste utilizes various communication

channels, such as radio, theatre and national media campaigns, to disseminate parenting
messages to the public while conducting monthly community sessions in rural community
centres and home visits to vulnerable households.
Scope: Violence reduction, parents’ mental health and climate change

At least 50 per cent of the ECD parenting programmes have integrated all nurturing care
components of the Nurturing Care Framework including health, nutrition, responsive
caregiving, learning and violence reduction, with some also primarily targeting the
prevention of child abuse and neglect. Examples of such programmes include the Cambodia
Positive Parenting Programme, the Indonesia Families First with Home Visitation Programme
(Ruiz-Casares et al., 2019) and the Parenting for Lifelong Health-informed programmes in
Malaysia and Thailand (Lachman et al., 2023; McCoy et al., 2021).
Approximately one fifth of the programmes have expanded their scope beyond the
Nurturing Care Framework to attend to parents’ mental health. The OneSky Family Skills
Programme, implemented by OneSky for All Children China, incorporates components
aimed at promoting socio-emotional well-being among caregivers by teaching skills that
help regulate their own emotions (Kamel et al., 2019). The Nobody's Perfect Parenting
Programme in Viet Nam has dedicated sessions to mental health and psychosocial support,
covering topics such as self-care, stress reduction, depression and social support. Samoa’s
Positive Discipline for Everyday Parenting is integrated with resources to support parents’
mental and spiritual health. In Vanuatu’s Parenting Support Programme, mobile early
childhood care and education teachers and other school teachers are trained to identify
parents with possible mental health problems.
The Love and Care for Every Child in Lao PDR is a promising initiative that could potentially
address the unique parenting challenges associated with climate change. The UNICEF
2020–2021 Strategic Framework for Parenting in Lao PDR outlined that this programme has
been designed in a climate-sensitive manner and examines the impacts of climate-smart
parenting that enhances resilience, adaptability and preparedness of families in the face of
climate change impacts (Jensen, 2020).
3.6 Implementation modalities

Delivery format
A significant proportion of the 52 programmes are delivered in a group format, while
approximately one third of them offer personalized parenting support, with a majority
combining individual services with group-based interventions. For instance, the
Cambodia Positive Parenting Programme provides group-based parenting sessions for high-
risk families while offering home visitation services for households referred by the child
protection sector. Similarly, the Community-based ECD Parenting Support and the OneSky
Family Skills Programme in China provide centre-based in-person group sessions and
regular home visits to families with the highest need (Kamel et al., 2019). In the Philippines,
the Parenting Effectiveness Service offers group sessions of Child Development Service
Parents' Groups and home visits, while the Family Support Program involves caregivers in
the decision-making process to choose the preferred delivery format.
About a quarter of the programmes (located in eight countries) have involved digitalization
in programme implementation. Several initiatives are using (automated) text messaging
systems, such as the MaPa Program in the Philippines, Naungan Kasih Positive Parenting
Programme in Malaysia and Early Moments Matter on Mobile in Thailand. Social media
platforms are used to extend the reach of parenting programmes in China and the Lao PDR.
Save the Children’s (Philippines) First Read Program offers remote access to its services
through a mobile phone app, iMulat (Kamel et al., 2019). The Hametin Familia in Timor-
Leste and the Love and Care for Every Child in the Lao PDR have incorporated the use of
radio and television to broadcast parenting messages.
There are also programmes utilizing a combination of different remote delivery methods.
The Parenting for Lifelong Health’s COVID-19 Playful Parenting resources, which were
created by condensing the open-source and evidence-based Parenting for Lifelong Health
programmes, are adaptable for remote distribution through various virtual platforms, such
as social media, text messages, website downloads, radio, video and webinars. As of early
2023, these parenting resources had been received by more than 56 million people in
Findings 39
Asia, including all East Asian and Pacific countries (UNICEF, 2021g). This demonstrates the
potential of widescale dissemination of evidence-based parenting resources through digital
and hybrid formats (Sherr et al., 2022).
Delivery platforms
The health and nutrition sectors are often the primary entry point for ECD parenting
programmes. The Parenting Schools Initiative in Thailand, for instance, engages families
through hospitals. In the Parenting for Lifelong Health for Young Children programme piloted
in Thailand, the health sector has a vital role in identifying families at risk of violence against
women and children. In Indonesia, the Integrated Programming on Positive Parenting
reached families through the nutrition sector prior to the COVID-19 crisis.
Some programmes operate within preschool settings and thus identify participants through
the education sector, such as the Nurturing Care Parenting Package attached to preschools
in Cambodia and the parenting sessions for community-based preschool teachers in Timor-
Leste. A few programmes are embedded within the social protection sector, which
serve as the platform to identify and recruit participants. For instance, the Hametin Familia
(Strengthening Families) in Timor-Leste is linked to the Ministry of Social Solidarity and
Inclusion’s Bolsa da Mãe (Mother’s Purse) conditional cash transfer programme. The MaPa
Program and the Parent Effectiveness Service in the Philippines are both delivered as part
of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, which provides conditional cash transfer to the
poorest families. The Parent Effectiveness Service and the Family Support Program are also
integrated into the services provided by the National Child Development Centers, which
serve as the community-based flagship programme of the ECCD Council in the Philippines.
There are also programmes that reach families through non-government or civil society
organizations, community leaders, community-based groups or faith-based
organizations. The Positive Discipline for Everyday Parenting Programme in Samoa
recruits caregivers from church communities. The Hapi en Helti Pikini Initiative in Solomon
Islands involves local civil society organization staff in contacting potential participants. In
Vanuatu’s Parenting Support Programme, church leaders or chiefs announce the availability
of parenting workshops to communities.
Certain programmes use multiple platforms for reaching out to families. China's community-
based ECD parenting support has health clinics, kindergartens and referral support services.
The Family Support Program of the ECCD Council of the Philippines taps into health, nutrition
and early childhood education services to recruit families. These examples demonstrate the
potential of using multiple delivery platforms to reach and engage diverse populations.
3.7 Workforce
Around half of the programmes have engaged individuals or paraprofessionals as
programme facilitators.6 For instance, the Caring for Our Children Programme in Cambodia
and Save the Children’s First Read Program in the Philippines is implemented by parent
volunteers. The Families First with Home Visitation Programme in Indonesia, the Pasin
6
A programme facilitator is an individual responsible for delivering the programme or intervention.
Bilong Lukautim Pikinini Gut (Parenting for Child Development) in Papua New Guinea
(UNICEF EAPRO and Maestral, 2019), the Family Support Program in the Philippines and
the Community-based ECD Parenting Support in China are delivered by social auxiliary
workers who live in the community and are recommended by the local village authority.
Some of the programmes are delivered by practitioners affiliated with the health sector,
such as Thailand’s Parenting for Lifelong Health for Young Children programme, which
is implemented by nurses, public health officers, medical social workers and other front-
line staff in the public health system within selected Health Promotion Hospitals. Several
preschool-based ECD parenting programmes are implemented by teachers within the
education sector, such as the parenting sessions by community-based preschool teachers
in Timor-Leste and the Parenting Support Programme in Vanuatu.
Nearly a third of programmes are implemented through collaboration among practitioners

from various sectors. For instance, the Nobody's Perfect Parenting Programme in Viet
Nam includes trained facilitators from the health care, welfare and educational sectors as
well as community members. The Parenting Club programme in Mongolia is carried out
by health workers, kindergarten teachers and social workers. In the initial implementation
phase of the MaPa Program in the Philippines, social workers, teachers, physicians and
psychology trainees collaborated to deliver the programme.
Capacity-building for programme facilitators

Fewer than half of the programmes reviewed were found to provide entry-level training,
refresher training or ongoing supervision or mentoring to programme facilitators. The
entry-level training is often conducted using a cascade model, which involves the training
of trainers followed by dissemination to front-line workers. For instance, in the Hapi en Helti
Pikini Initiative in the Solomon Islands, sectoral ECD leaders are trained on the parenting
content, allowing them to deliver training to facilitators in their respective sectors. The
Parenting Support Programme in Vanuatu convenes mobile ECCD senior teachers from
each area who attend the master training before they train programme facilitators in their
designated area. Other programmes that use the cascade training approach include the
Families First with Home Visitation Programme in Indonesia, the Nobody's Perfect Parenting
in Viet Nam, the Parenting for Lifelong Health programmes in the Philippines and Thailand
and most of the parenting programmes in China.
Several programmes provide regular ongoing supervision and mentoring support to monitor
and improve the quality of delivery. Programme mentors in the Families First with Home
Visitation Programme in Indonesia are required to dedicate half a day per week to coaching
facilitators throughout the programme (Ruiz-Casares et al., 2019). In the Community-based
ECD Parenting Support in China, provincial-level mentors conduct regular online in vivo
coaching and onsite supervision for all programme implementation sites.
A few programmes offer refresher training during programme delivery. Also in China’s
Community-based ECD Parenting Support programme, provincial-level mentors receive
yearly refresher training, while in the OneSky Family Skills Programme in China, both master
trainers and programme facilitators attend quarterly refresher training. In Timor-Leste,
facilitators recently received training on revised modules.
Findings 41
Most programmes provide their staff trainees with a manual that includes delivery
strategies. The Viet Nam Nobody's Perfect Parenting Programme, the Vanuatu Parenting
Support Programme, the Lao PDR’s Love and Care for Every Child and China’s Community-
based ECD Parenting Support offers resources for caregivers, such as play kits, posters
and parent booklets.
Demand and access to ECD parenting programmes in the

region
This domain centres around fostering initiatives aimed at enhancing the

demand for parenting support services among parents and caregivers.
These initiatives seek to drive changes in attitudes and behaviours,
ultimately fostering greater participation in creating nurturing care
environments. This involves engaging the broader community,
establishing partnerships and implementing the necessary systems
and structures to facilitate meaningful participation.
Culturally sensitive approach

Recognizing and addressing cultural needs are crucial to providing effective and relevant
services that meet the diverse requirements of families and promote positive outcomes for
children (Perera et al., 2020; Kumpfer, Magalhães and Xie, 2012). Most of the programmes
are delivered in mother tongue, but they may not necessarily take into account
cultural beliefs, values and traditions. Only around a fifth of the programmes incorporate
other cultural considerations, such as reflecting traditional culture or local religious and spiritual
practices. In Indonesia, the Integrated Programming on Positive Parenting reflects local
religious and cultural values and the Food Supplementation and Psychosocial Stimulation
Programme uses traditional plays and songs (Helmizar et al., 2017). Save the Children’s First
Read Program in the Philippines embraces indigenous knowledge and cultural heritage.
Community engagement activities are integral to the OneSky Family Skills Programme in
China. These activities aim to strengthen rural community cohesion and resilience while
motivating community members to actively participate in creating positive changes in
childcare and parenting. Such activities include festival celebrations that welcome parents
who have migrated to cities for work when they come back home for Chinese New Year,
community Chinese opera and dancing interest groups and after-school interest groups
facilitated by teachers focusing on cultural heritage (Kamel et al., 2019).
Male engagement
Three programmes incorporate specific content to encourage male involvement in
caregiving, while three others employ targeted recruitment strategies to increase
male participation. In Indonesia, the Integrated Programming on Positive Parenting
provides a manual that summarizes messages for fathers in parenting. In the Philippines,
Save the Children’s First Read Program conducts all-father sessions that emphasize shared
childcare responsibility and promote gender-responsive parenting. The Hametin Familia
Parenting Programme in Timor-Leste created the Fathers Networking activity to promote
male engagement in parenting, which is expected to be rolled out across all implementation
sites. Three other programmes employ targeted recruitment strategies to increase
male participation. In China, for instance, the Community-based ECD Parenting Support
programme underlines the role of male caregivers in parenting through social mobilization,
with male figures presented on posters and videos. In Papua New Guinea, the Parenting
for Child Development Programme emphasizes recruiting male caregivers, with couples
often attending the programmes together. In Vanuatu, the Parenting Support Programme is
offered in locations where there is a programme for male caregivers.
Disability inclusion
The Family School Sessions in Thailand are exclusively available to families of children with
disabilities, developmental delays, low birth weight or malnutrition. Two other programmes
– the Parenting for Lifelong Health for Young Children programme in Thailand and the
Parenting Support Programme in Vanuatu – offer disability or developmental screening and
referral for additional support. Around one fifth of the programmes are open to families
with a child living with disabilities who share sessions alongside families with
able-bodied children. Some of these programmes also include content aimed at raising
awareness about disabilities. For instance, the Hametin Familia Parenting Programme in
Timor-Leste addresses the topic of ‘education for all’, while the Hapi en Helti Pikini Initiative
in Solomon Islands features discussions on parenting children with disabilities.
© UNICEF/UN050098/Pirozzi
Gap and Challenges 43
4 GAPS AND CHALLENGES

This section looks at what is lacking or inadequately addressed in the
ECD parenting programmes and delves into the underlying reasons for
the gaps to help find ways to successfully implement the programmes.
4.1 Enabling policy environment and governance

mechanisms for ECD parenting programmes in
the region
GAPS CHALLENGES
Lack of enabling policy Slow policy response:

environment and governance Despite the growing interest
structures: The region and presence of ECD policies
lacks sufficient legislative and plans, the adoption and
frameworks, family-friendly implementation of these
policies (especially paid policies in the region have
paternity leave), dedicated been slow. This is due to
budgets and efficient various challenges, such as
coordination mechanisms, coordination issues, limited
all of which are essential enforcement mechanisms,
for fostering the successful variations in understanding,
implementation of parenting lack of human resources,
programmes. financial constraints and
competing priorities.
Limited use and generation Limited research and

of evidence: The region evaluation efforts: Insufficient
faces gaps due to the lack of focus on conducting rigorous
development or selection of research and evaluation
programmes that are based of parenting programmes
on evidence, as well as might be the result of limited
limited routine monitoring and funding, technical expertise or
evaluation of ECD parenting organizational priorities.
programmes. Only a few
programmes undergo rigorous
evaluation.
4.2 Supply of ECD parenting programmes in the region
GAPS CHALLENGES
Limited focus on violence prevention, Lack of a whole-of-government

parents’ mental health and gender approach: Providing nurturing care for
responsiveness: Many ECD parenting young children requires collaboration
programmes in the region lack across sectors. However, achieving
components addressing violence such collaboration is challenging due
against children and inadequately to the lack of a government structure
support caregivers’ emotional well- that fosters and coordinates parenting
being and mental health. And they have initiatives across different sectors.
limited focus on promoting positive
gender socialization through gender-
transformative parenting. Nor do they
adequately address the links between
violence against children and violence
against women.
Lack of tiered support: Only a limited Resource constraints: Implementing a

number of countries have adopted a tiered support system requires additional
tiered approach by providing multiple resources, including funding, personnel
levels of prevention strategies that cater and capacity-building efforts, which
to families at different levels of risk. may pose challenges for countries with
limited resources.
4.3 Demand and access to ECD parenting programmes in the region
GAPS CHALLENGES
Limited incorporation of cultural Reduced cultural relevance: Limited

beliefs, values and traditions: Many of consideration to the specific cultural
the programmes are primarily delivered needs and values of the families can
in the mother tongue, which is a positive lead programmes to face challenges
step towards inclusivity. However, they in connecting with the community
may not fully consider the diverse cultural and achieving their goals of fostering
beliefs, values and traditions of the target positive outcomes for children. This may
families and communities. ultimately lead to reduced engagement
and impact.
Opportunities 45
5 OPPORTUNITIES
This section highlights the potential opportunities for enhancing the
parenting support initiatives across the region.
A regional momentum in delivering parenting

intervention
East Asian and Pacific countries are increasingly recognizing the

impact of parenting on ECD and safeguarding children from violence.
This has led to regional momentum in policies for parenting support.
ASEAN Member States have shown high-level political commitment to
address supportive parenting through the Regional Plan of Action on
the Elimination of Violence Against Children and the ASEAN Guidelines
for a Non-Violent Approach to [the] Nurture, Care and Development
of Children in All Settings, which recognizes that “one of the steps to
prevent and eventually eliminate violence against children is to adopt a
non-violent approach to [the] nurture, care and development of children
in all settings”.
Over the past decade, Thailand emphasized the significance of

parenting in its national strategic plans, such as the Twelfth National
Economic and Social Development Plan (2017–2021) and the
forthcoming Thirteenth Plan (2023–2027). The aim of these plans is to
reform parenting practices with the ultimate goal of developing human
resources. In 2021, China adopted the Family Education Promotion
Law, which defines parenting support as a priority area and outlines the
principles and responsibilities of stakeholders in delivering parenting
service. In the Philippines, the National ECCD Strategic Plan (2019–
2030), developed by the ECCD Council, identifies the improvement of
parental ability to provide "supportive, protective and responsive care"
as an intermediate outcome. The plan emphasizes several areas to
promote this outcome, including fostering parenthood preparedness,
developing skills for responsive caregiving and positive parenting,
providing support to parents during crisis, addressing the mental health
of parents, offering support to parents of young children requiring
special protection and promoting work–life harmony for parents. This
momentum, coupled with the increasing number of success stories
within the region, has the potential to continue to facilitate the creation
of an enabling environment that is supportive of parenting service
delivery with continued advocacy.
UNICEF advocacy in ECD parenting support
The UNICEF Strategic Plan 2022–2025 identifies parenting support as critical to creating
transformational systemic changes that can reduce child mortality, poverty and vulnerability
(UNICEF, 2022b). Additionally, the UNICEF EAPRO Management Plan (2022–2025) envisions
that by 2025, East Asian and Pacific countries will have strengthened capacity to provide
caregivers, especially those facing difficulties exacerbated by the pandemic, with access to
positive parenting training (UNICEF, 2021d). The ECD strategic vision for EAPRO comprises
two main components: (a) system strengthening and (b) family and child-friendly policies.
The latter includes providing parenting support and relevant policies (UNICEF, 2021d).
To advance parenting support, UNICEF country offices across the region continue to offer
coordinated technical assistance to governments, advocating for evidence-based and
integrated ECD parenting services. This effort aims to ensure that all families, especially
the most vulnerable, can provide responsive caregiving and help their children reach their
developmental potential. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF supported
the expansion of child grants in Myanmar, advocated for the universal coverage of child
benefits to be maintained in Mongolia and developed guidelines for providing cash transfers
to more vulnerable populations in Indonesia. In the Philippines, UNICEF provided training to
front-line workers and caregivers on conducting development and learning activities at home.
This was facilitated through the distribution of the Teach From Home Activity Guide and
Learn at Home kit. In partnership with the ECCD Council, UNICEF also organized webinars
to educate parents on how they can support their children's development. UNICEF assisted
with the use of innovative and flexible methods, such as TV, radio and automated chatbots,
to disseminate parenting advice remotely across the region (UNICEF, 2021g).
Several international and regional guidelines and reports have been developed to inform the
design and implementation of ECD parenting programmes in the region. Examples include:
UNICEF Programme Guidance for ECD (2017), the UNICEF Standards for ECD Parenting
Programmes in Low- And Middle-Income Countries, the Promoting Positive Parenting:
Review and Analysis of Lessons Learned from Parenting Programmes in East Asia and
Pacific 2019, the UNICEF Gender-Responsive Parenting: Technical Note and the Growing
Steady and Strong: ECD Regional Guidance in East Asia and Pacific.
Declining birth rate in the region

Another significant opportunity in this region relates to the declining birth rate. As the
number of educated and working women continuing to rise but in the presence of societal
norms and policies that fail to adequately recognize and support women in their roles as
mothers and caregivers, the region has experienced a sharp decline in fertility rates over the
past few decades.7 This trend necessitates policies and programmes that actively support
parenting while fostering a culture of shared parenting. This will help create an environment
in which men and women are equally empowered and supported in their parenting roles.
It involves ensuring a fair distribution of childcare responsibilities, thereby alleviating the
burden that has traditionally fallen solely on female caregivers.
7
United Nations, World Fertility Data, 2019.
Opportunities 47
Emerging support for caregivers’ mental health and well-being

Although still limited, the region has seen a rise in interest and support for caregivers’ mental
health and well-being. For instance, the Parenting Club programme in Mongolia plans to
incorporate mental health support in the next round of its pilot. UNICEF Philippines created
a webinar series during the pandemic with its parenting package to empower families
with a child who has a disability (UNICEF, 2021d). UNICEF EAPRO has also developed a
regional multisectoral mental health and psychosocial support framework as guidance for
mental health and psychosocial support programming in the region, delineating the roles
and responsibilities of the various sectors involved. Future programmes should leverage
these existing resources and platforms to integrate and strengthen mental health support
within parenting programmes.
Engaging community members in service delivery

Although the delivery of programmes by professionals might be preferable due to their
professional training and trustworthiness in the community, it can be costly and constrained
by limited personnel. Research indicates that engaged individuals or paraprofessionals
who have received adequate training on programme content and facilitation skills can also
effectively implement interventions (Ward et al., 2020; Cluver et al., 2018). This review
found that approximately 50 per cent of the 52 programmes involved interested individuals
or paraprofessionals in the delivery of their activities. Although the effectiveness of these
programmes has yet to be investigated, it remains one potential solution to address the
human resource gaps in service provision.
Increasing availability of evidence

An increasing body of evidence on the outcome and implementation (including
institutionalization) of parenting interventions in the region is becoming available, including
high-quality systematic reviews (see, for example, McCoy et al., 2020) and experimental
studies (Lachman et al., 2021; Luo et al., 2019; Alampay et al., 2018; Helmizar et al., 2017),
as well as in other low- and middle-income countries ( UNICEF, 2021; Britto et al., 2015).
Such evidence can be used to inform future selection, adaptation, delivery and scaling up
of evidence based ECD parenting programmes that are more likely to address targeted
outcomes and be sustainable in the region.
© UNICEF/UNI341928/Viet Hung
Recommendations 49
6 RECOMMENDATIONS
This study is significant in the East Asia and Pacific region, providing
a mapping of the ECD parenting programme landscape. The report
highlights a range of implications and recommendations resulting
from the mapping. These recommendations are organized under the
conceptual framework of enabling policy environment and governance
structures, supply of and demand for ECD parenting programmes in the
region. Suggestions for priority actions that governments and partners
should focus on to implement the recommendations effectively are
highlighted. These actions would be vital in shaping the way forward at
the regional and country levels to enhance the future programming and
implementation of parenting-support interventions.
6.1 Recommendations for creating an

enabling environment for ECD parenting
programmes
Strengthen the enabling policy environment for effective

programme implementation.
To prioritize ECD parenting support at the national level, it is
recommended to establish a legal framework that clearly defines
objectives, accountability measures, resource allocation mechanisms
(including finance) and strategic implementation plans (UNICEF, 2020b).
Additionally, to ensure government commitment, the design of ECD
parenting programmes should align with national policies. An example
of this is the Nobody's Perfect Parenting Programme in Viet Nam,
which was designed to implement the 2016 Law on Children.
Laws and policies supportive of ECD parenting should be put in place

to anchor ECD parenting programmes and ensure commitment from
policymakers. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rise in child poverty
and increasing the risk of children falling far below their developmental
potential. To tackle this issue, governments should refocus on universal
non-contributory child grants that provide financial support to all
families with children, regardless of their income status. Examples of
such programmes include Thailand’s Child Support Grant, Mongolia’s
Child Money Programme, Indonesia’s Family Hope Programme, and
Myanmar’s Maternal and Child Cash Transfer.
In addition, provision for maternity leave and supported breastfeeding

in the workplace need to be reinforced, and paternity leave should
be advocated to encourage shared caregiving and promote gender
equality. The workplace also represents a unique opportunity to raise awareness of positive
parenting, serve as an entry point to reach caregivers, and provide a platform for conducting
parenting sessions. For example, in Viet Nam, UNICEF collaborated with the Ministry of
Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry to
train facilitators who then implemented the Nobody's Perfect parenting programme in the
workplace for caregivers of children younger than 8 years.
Enhance evidence-based decision-making through robust data collection

and management mechanisms for programme relevance, effectiveness and
implementation.
When designing, implementing and evaluating any programmes, it is recommended to
consider both the quality of evidence and the alignment between the evidence and the local
context. This is accomplished through a comprehensive review to examine the feasibility of
programme implementation and studies to evaluate a programme's effectiveness.
Prior to programme development, formative research or baseline or situation analysis

need to be conducted to investigate local behavioural barriers and facilitators of positive
parenting practices. It can examine parenting knowledge, attitudes and practices, consider
contextual features that impact parenting and identify levers of change. When using an existing
programme, it is recommended to systematically adapt the programme using established
guidelines, such as the ADAPT framework (Moore et al., 2021), to ensure cultural relevance
and to offer parenting advice that resonates with local caregivers.
It is also essential for ECD parenting programmes to identify or develop a theory of change
or logic model that depicts the programme activities to targeted outcomes after closely
assessing the local context. A clear theory of change or logic model will guide the planning,
management and evaluation of the programme.
Regardless of whether a programme is imported or locally developed, it is crucial to pilot

or field test the adapted intervention and, if imported, ensure that the contextualization
and adaptation have been carried out ideally by engaging caregivers, including those from
marginalized groups, to understand its feasibility and relevance. Reporting guidelines,
such as the FRAME framework for reporting adaptations and modifications to evidence-
based interventions (Stirman, Baumann and Miller, 2019), can be used to systematically
document the pilot so that the findings can inform the revision before it is delivered to a
larger population.
During the implementation phase, it is recommended to establish an iterative "act–learn"

cycle by conducting routine monitoring and evaluations for assessing the impact and
implementation, in line with the theory of change (Lachman et al., 2016). To facilitate
comparison across time and programmes, it is also suggested to use consistent indicators
and standardized tools, such as the Care for Child Development Framework for Monitoring
and Evaluating (UNICEF, 2017).
In this context, it is also essential to ensure that the learnings from programme are
easily accessible to a range of stakeholders, including policymakers and practitioners, by
translating the research findings into a language and format that are easily understandable
Recommendations 51
and applicable within specific contexts. It is important to extract policy implications from
the research to effectively inform decision-making processes. The generation of evidence
will deepen the understanding of whether, why and how the programme is working, which
is critical for promoting its sustainability and increasing buy-in. It also helps to ensure
that limited resources are directed to activities that are the most likely to achieve desired
outcomes.
Maximize cross-sectoral collaboration by harnessing the potential of a whole-of-

government approach.
Providing parenting programmes that aim to address all domains of Nurturing Care
Framework and thus promote holistic child development requires integrated and
harmonized efforts across sectors and shared accountability for results. It is important
to identify a lead ministry for implementing the parenting programme that facilitates
cross-sector and horizontal collaboration and ensure effective coordination (Neuman and
Devercelli, 2012). The study findings highlight the importance of seamless integration of
parenting support within existing frameworks and enhancing collaboration with multiple
sectors. This collaborative approach can help in bringing stakeholders from diverse sectors
together, including the ministries responsible for social protection, education, health and
child development.
The study found that the region has been moving towards an integrated approach to ECD
services, as seen in Indonesia’s Holistic-Integrated ECD Action Plan, which addresses
all essential components of nurturing care (UNICEF, 2021b). However, achieving proper
collaboration across sectors is still a challenge. To maximize the potential of a lead ministry,
clear roles, responsibilities and accountability mechanisms need to be established. Regular
communication channels, such as intersectoral meetings and working groups, must be
established or strengthened to ensure ongoing collaboration and progress monitoring.
Capacity-building should be undertaken to enhance the skills and knowledge of professionals
and paraprofessionals involved in parenting programme implementation at different levels
across sectors. This approach will lead to a more integrated, comprehensive and impactful
programme that effectively supports parents and enhances children’s well-being.
Priority actions for operationalizing the recomendations.

ACTION TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON THE
RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION
Strengthen the Conduct a Collaborate with Conduct studies

enabling policy comprehensive governments to assess the
environment for review of existing to advocate for effectiveness of
effective programme policies related to the prioritization parenting policies
implementation. parenting support of parenting and programmes
and identify gaps interventions in and identify
and opportunities national agendas good practices
for further and policy actions. and areas for
improvement. improvement.

Enhance evidence- Strengthen data- Support capacity- Explore

based decision- collection systems building initiatives innovative
making through to capture relevant with government ways of using
robust data collection information officials and technology
and management
on parenting policymakers to for data
mechanisms
interventions' enhance their collection and
for programme
outcomes and understanding management
relevance,
effectiveness and impacts. and knowledge to enhance the
implementation. of evidence- efficiency and
based parenting accuracy of
practices and of information.
maintaining robust
data-collection
and management
systems.
Use data to Assist Investigate

inform evidence- governments in the long-term
based decision- conducting impact impacts of
making and evaluations and parenting
make necessary research to assess interventions
adjustments the effectiveness on children's
to parenting of parenting development
programmes for interventions. and well-being.
better outcomes. This should
involve delving
further into
the nuanced
aspects
of impact
assessment
to gain a more
thorough
understanding
of the sustained
benefits and
potential areas
for improvement
in these
interventions.
Recommendations 53

Maximize cross- Leverage the Facilitate Study

sectoral collaboration synergy of comprehensive successful
by harnessing the multisectoral multisectoral models of
potential of the structures to engagements cross-sectoral
whole-of-government
seamlessly that go beyond collaboration
approach.
integrate and dialogues to in parenting
enhance parenting include shared support from
as a crucial capacity-building, other regions
component for collaborative work or countries.
effective policy planning and the Promote the
implementation. identification of sharing of
strategic entry experiences
points. within the
region to build
on efforts to
date.
Develop joint Encourage Research and

action plans to and facilitate share the
ensure synergy partnerships experiences
and coordination among different of the role of
among different partners to community
sectors in strengthen the engagement
implementing collective impact and participation
parenting of parenting in promoting
programmes. interventions. cross-sectoral
coordination
for parenting
interventions.
6.2 Recommendations for supporting the effective

supply of parenting programmes in the region
Build on a tiered support system to cater to families with different levels of risk.
Many existing programmes predominantly adopt either a universal or selective approach.
However, there is a growing recognition of the need to establish a tiered support system
(see the following triangle)8, which involves combining more tailored programmes for families
with higher needs alongside widespread parenting interventions or messages delivered via
8
A tiered system in the context of parenting programmes refers to a structured approach that categorizes
interventions based on the level of need or risk among the audience. The four tiers commonly used are universal,
selective, indicated and tiered.
mass and social media and home visits to raise public awareness about nurturing care. It
is crucial to ensure that the fundamental parenting principles remain consistent across all
levels of this pyramid of support. Examples, such as the Positive Parenting Programme
in Cambodia and the Hametin Familia Programme in Timor-Leste, offer multiple levels of
parenting support. Some programmes are transitioning towards a tiered approach. For
instance, the Love and Care for Every Child Programme in Lao PDR is considering the option
of wider-scale dissemination of its messaging through television, radio, text messages and
social media (Lao PDR, 2021).
Selective
interventions
are aimed at a specific
subgroup of parents
or families who may be
at a higher risk for parenting
challenges or have specific needs.
Tiered interventions
involve a combination of the
above three types – universal,
Indicated selectives, and indicated Universal
interventions interventions – support
are tailored for organized into a to benefit an
parents or families who tiered system entire population or
are already facing specific of support. community regardless of
issues or challenging in their whether they are experiencing
parenting role. specific problems or challenges in
parenting
Leverage the use of existing delivery platforms for enhanced reach, ownership,
and sustainability of the programme.
Programmes embedded within the existing service delivery system (those who are
institutionalized) are more likely to ensure that parenting services are provided in a holistic
manner. Such programmes also have the advantage of larger reach, more stakeholders
buy-in, community ownership and programme sustainability. There are several examples
of institutionalization in the region. The Parenting for Lifelong Health for Young Children
programme in Thailand is integrated into the routine services of Health Promotion Hospitals.
The MaPa Program and the Parent Effectiveness Service in the Philippines are delivered
as part of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, which provides conditional cash
transfers to the poorest households. The Integrated Programming on Positive Parenting
in Indonesia is embedded within the national social protection measure named Family
Recommendations 55
Hope Programme. However, integrating ECD parenting programmes into existing service
platforms may increase the workload of an already stretched workforce. Similar challenges
are also observed when attempting to mainstream mental health and psychosocial support.
This highlights the need for enhanced financing and a critical evaluation of the system's
readiness (Aarons, Hurlburt and Horwitz, 2011).
Harness the potential of innovative localized delivery modalities, including digital

solutions, for continuous caregiver support during a crisis like the COVID-19
pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic jeopardized child development while also limiting the workforce
capacity to support caregivers in providing nurturing care. Guarding against a similar
experience in the future requires an innovative approach, particularly through digitalization
or localized modalities to provide caregivers with continuous parenting support. There
is much evidence of programmes converted to digital delivery to cope with reach issues
during the pandemic (Franz et al., 2022; Sherr et al., 2022; Behrens et al., 2021; Garcia
et al., 2021). Several countries in the region are also involved in the implementation and
evaluation of digital ECD parenting programmes. For example, in the Philippines, Save the
Children uses the iMulat application as one of the methods to deliver its First Read Program.
In Cambodia, China, Malaysia and Philippines, ParentText (an automated text messaging
service that is based on parenting programmes developed by Parenting for Lifelong Health
for caregivers of children aged from birth up to 17 years) is being developed for deployment
in various messaging platforms, such as Telegram and WeChat.
Digital programmes have the potential to increase service accessibility by reaching families
who have been underrepresented in traditional ECD parenting programmes, such as those
living in remote areas. However, families with lower technological readiness, who are often
already vulnerable, will be less likely to benefit from digitalization, which may lead to widened
health and social inequalities.
It is critical that digital ECD parenting programmes are designed to be more inclusive, with
extra support provided to disadvantaged families at risk of digital exclusion.
Strengthen capacities of facilitators by leveraging the use of continuous and

supportive supervision and mentoring support mechanisms.
ECD parenting programmes should ensure that facilitators, whether professionals or
paraprofessionals, receive adequate training on essential components of nurturing care
and parenting, both pre- and in-service, as well as culturally sensitive techniques for adult
training, engaging vulnerable families and psychological first aid and the identification of
parents who may need further mental health support. Throughout programme delivery,
facilitators should have access to ongoing support, such as regular supervision, timely
feedback from mentors, peer support and refresher training, to enhance their capacity
to address any challenges that may arise and ensure their ongoing growth and learning. In
the context of digitalization, it is also crucial that the workforce is trained in skills for providing
remote services and a flexible combination of digital and in-person parenting support. This
ensures that the front-line workers are always in tune with programme objectives, and it
also ensures flexibility in response to the needs of parents and caregivers.
It is equally important for ECD parenting programmes to have a sustainable training

mechanism, as noted in several programmes, such as Viet Nam's Nobody's Perfect and
Parenting for Lifelong Health for Young Children in Thailand, where creating a strong
workforce at scale has proven challenging. Resources from governments and development
partners should be leveraged to expand the financing for long-term capacity-building.
For instance, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement and UNICEF jointly
supports the training in Myanmar’s Early Childhood Intervention.
Priority actions for operationalizing the recommendations

Build on a tiered Establish a Collaborate with Research effective

support system to tiered support governments models of tiered
cater to families with system that offers to design and support systems
different levels of concurrent access implement tiered- in parenting
risk. to both generalized support systems interventions and
and specialized that align with identify good
services that allow national policies practices for
families to address and priorities. implementation.
their specific
needs and risks
comprehensively.
Allocate resources Support the Investigate the cost-
to ensure the pre- and in- effectiveness of
equitable access to service training tiered interventions
parenting support and capacity- to inform resource
for vulnerable and building of service allocation
at-risk families. providers to strategies.
deliver appropriate
interventions at
different tiers.
Leverage the use of Identify and utilize Support Research
delivery platforms existing public governments successful
for enhanced reach, service delivery in mapping examples of
ownership and platforms (health delivery platforms integrating
sustainability of clinics, schools, and assessing parenting support
programmes. community centres) their suitability into service delivery
to integrate for integrating platforms from
parenting-support parenting other regions or
services. interventions. countries.
Foster collaboration Provide technical Evaluate the
among ministries expertise in effectiveness
and sectors adapting and and efficiency of
to maximize integrating utilizing different
the utilization parenting support delivery platforms
of existing into various for parenting
infrastructure and service delivery interventions.
resources. channels.
Recommendations 57

Harness the potential Explore and invest Provide technical Investigate the
of innovative in digital technology support and effectiveness
localized delivery solutions (mobile funding for the and scalability of
modalities, including apps, online development and digital technology
digital solutions, platforms) to deliver deployment of in reaching
for continuous parenting resources innovative digital diverse caregiver
caregiver support and support. solutions for populations.
during a crisis like the parenting support.
COVID-19 pandemic.
Ensure accessibility Monitor and Study the long-term
and inclusivity of evaluate the impact of innovative
digital platforms impact of digital delivery modalities
for caregivers technology on caregivers'
with limited on enhancing parenting practices
technological caregiver support and children's
literacy or and programme outcomes.
resources. effectiveness.
Strengthen the Establish a Provide technical Study the impact
capacities of continuous assistance in of supportive
facilitators by and supportive establishing supervision and
leveraging the supervision mentorship and mentoring on
use of continuous and mentoring peer-support facilitators' self-
and supportive system to support networks for efficacy.
supervision and facilitators in their facilitators.
mentoring-support role.
mechanisms.
Recognize and Support regular Conduct an
incentivize evaluations assessment to
facilitators' and feedback understand the
contributions to mechanisms to competencies
promote motivation ensure the quality of programme
and retention. of facilitators' facilitators that
performance. significantly
impact caregiver
engagement
and programme
outcomes. This can
provide insights
into the skills and
capacities essential
for guiding the
development of
targeted training and
ultimately enhance
the effectiveness of
the overall initiative.
6.3 Recommendations for promoting access to ECD

parenting programmes by creating demand for quality
interventions
Adopt a comprehensive approach to address violence issues and parents’ mental

health in parenting interventions.
ECD parenting programmes should attend to all five core components of nurturing care: health,
nutrition, responsive caregiving, early learning and security and safety (WHO et al., 2018).
It is recommended to integrate ECD components with violence prevention strategies.
This integration could encompass equipping caregivers with non-violent parenting methods
like 'redirect' and 'ignore’,9 as well as strengthening their capacity to safeguard children from
potential harm and injury. For instance, the Love and Care for Every Child programme in
Lao PDR offers caregivers guidance on non-violent parenting techniques, conflict resolution
approaches and child protection measures, in addition to providing information on health and
learning. These efforts aim to establish a safe and nurturing home environment for children.
Incorporating mental health and psychosocial support as fundamental components of

parenting programmes, such as stress-reduction techniques and peer support for caregivers,
is significant for the well-being of caregivers and children. To achieve this, it is essential
for countries to make use of existing mental health resources and platforms in support of
caregivers’ mental health and emotional wellness within parenting interventions. This can
involve the adaptation and integration of resources like the UNICEF Caring for the Caregiver
training module or other mental health and psychosocial support tools. Additionally, it is
recommended to include regular perinatal support to enhance parents’ mental health and
identify opportunities for referral when caregivers require additional assistance.
Promote inclusivity when expanding access and engagement to tackle inequity in

and exclusion from integrated services.
ECD parenting interventions in the region should be inclusive, covering families of children
from marginalized groups, such as those with disabilities, ethnic minorities, migrant children,
teen parents, children from diverse language backgrounds and children in humanitarian
settings. The programmes should be purposefully designed so that those children and
parents are not further left behind.
UNICEF (2021f) recommends a twin-track approach to support families of children with

disabilities: disability is included within parenting policies, and targeted services are available
to address their unique challenges. Thailand’s Family School Sessions is exclusively
delivered for families of children with disabilities and other special needs, while the Parenting
for Lifelong Health for Young Children and the Vanuatu Parenting Support Programme
incorporates disability screening and referral. Future programmes can further mainstream
disability by adapting parenting content, developing disability-inclusive recruitment strategies
and building workforce capacity to work with families of children with disabilities.
9
Integrating non-violent parenting methods such as 'redirect' and 'ignore' involves incorporating these techniques
into the training provided to caregivers. 'Redirect' means guiding a child's behaviour towards a more appropriate
or positive action while 'ignore' involves intentionally not reinforcing unwanted behaviour to discourage its
repetition.
Recommendations 59
Integrate gender-transformative approaches into parenting programmes to foster

gender equality and shared parenting responsibilities.
Parenting interventions that aim to create behavioural changes associated with the
provision of nurturing care should involve all caregivers to ensure consistent parenting
within the household (Britto et al., 2015). ECD parenting programmes should promote
gender-transformative parenting and emphasizing gender equality and shared parenting
responsibilities (UNICEF, 2021c, 2022a). For example, Timor-Leste’s Hametin Familia
Parenting Programme offers all-father sessions and Save the Children (Philippines) First
Read Program has a fathers’ network to encourage male engagement.
Gender-transformative parenting extends beyond engaging male caregivers in childcare

activities and entails practices that foster positive gender socialization in young children.
For example, parenting programmes should actively address gender stereotypes, advocate
for an equitable distribution of resources among children of all genders and actively work
towards eradicating harmful gender-based practices, such as violence, within households.
To promote gender-responsive parenting, it is essential to strengthen both government and

private sector initiatives aimed at creating a gender-transformative environment. Workforce
training is also crucial for raising awareness of gender equity and addressing caregivers’
mental health and well-being concerns associated with gender norms (UNICEF, 2021c).
Implementing these strategies not only enhances opportunities for child development but
also prevents the perpetuation of negative gender stereotypes to the next generation.
© UNICEF/UN0198634/Njiokiktjien VII Photo

Priority actions for operationalizing the recommendations

Adopt a Develop and implement Support Conduct

comprehensive comprehensive policies governments in research to
approach to address and programmes, integrating violence understand the
violence issues and integrating violence prevention and root causes and
parents’ mental prevention and parents’ mental health risk factors of
health in parenting mental health within components into violence and
interventions. parenting interventions. existing parenting mental health
Recognize that a interventions by challenges
mere addition of recognizing the links in parenting
a module may not between violence contexts.
suffice, considering the against children and
complexity of behaviour violence against
change. A detailed women.
plan that goes beyond
knowledge-sharing
and encompasses
multifaceted strategies
for effective behavioural
transformation is
crucial.
Invest in pre- and in- Collaborate Study the long-
service training and with relevant term impact of
capacity-building for stakeholders to comprehensive
a range of service conduct awareness approaches
providers learn to campaigns that on reducing
identify and respond promote positive violence and
effectively to violence parenting practices promoting
and mental health and mental health. parents’ mental
concerns. well-being.
Promote inclusivity Establish or expand Provide financial and Evaluate
when expanding upon community technical assistance the impact
access and outreach programmes to implement of inclusive
engagement of to engage and involve community-based approaches
integrated services. traditionally excluded initiatives that on reach,
groups in parenting target marginalized engagement
support initiatives, in families. and
particular children with effectiveness of
disabilities. a programme.
Recommendations 61

Integrate gender- Collaborate with Leverage trainings Conduct

transformative experts and at the community longitudinal
approaches organizations to level to further studies to
into parenting design and implement promote gender- analyse the
programmes to foster gender-transformative transformative sustained
gender equality and parenting policies parenting. impact of
shared parenting and programmes gender-
that address specific transformative
responsibilities.
challenges. parenting
programmes
on children's
development
and well-being.
Collectively work Facilitate knowledge Evaluate the
with the whole of exchange between integration
government, civil countries and of gender-
society and United organizations transformative
Nations agencies to to disseminate parenting
launch campaigns successful principles
to inform and approaches and into national
engage the public strategies. policies and
on the importance the resultant
of gender-responsive changes
parenting and shared in gender
responsibilities. dynamics.
© UNICEF/UN0203775/Zehbrauskas
References 63
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Stirman, S.W., A.A. Baumann and C.J. Miller, The FRAME: An expanded framework for
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References 69
UNICEF, Gender Responsive Parenting: A Technical Note, 2021c.

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ANNEX – A
RESOURCES AND GUIDELINES
1. UNICEF, Young Children and the Pandemic: UNICEF early childhood COVID-19
response in East Asia and Pacific, 2021.
2. UNICEF, UNICEF’s Vision for Elevating Parenting: A strategic note, 2021.
3. UNICEF, Growing Steady and Strong: Early childhood development regional
guidance in East Asia and the Pacific, 2021.
4. UNICEF, Gender Responsive Parenting: A technical note, 2021.
5. UNICEF, Designing Parenting Programmes for Violence Prevention: A guidance
note, New York, 2020.
6. UNICEF, Family-friendly Policies: A policy brief redesigning the workplace of the
future, 2021.
7. UNICEF, Standards for ECD Parenting Programmes in Low- and Middle-Income
Countries, 2021.
8. UNICEF, Mapping of ECD Parenting Programmes in Low- and Middle-Income
Countries, 2014.
9. UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office and Maestral, Promoting Positive
Parenting: Review and analysis of lessons learned from parenting programmes in
East Asia and the Pacific, 2019.
10. World Health Organization, WHO Guidelines on Parenting Interventions to Prevent
Years, 2023.
11. WHO, UNICEF, Together to End Violence, End Violence Against Children and
Inspire, Ending Violence Against Children During COVID-19 and Beyond: Second
regional conference to strengthen implementation of the INSPIRE Strategies: East
Asia and the Pacific, 2021.
12. UNICEF, Supporting Families for Gender-Transformative Parenting: Challenging the
gender norms and gender inequalities – Creating a more equitable environment for
all children to thrive, 2022.
13. World Health Organization, WHO Guidelines on Parenting Interventions to Prevent
Years, Geneva, 2022.
14. P.R. Britto, L. Ponguta, C. Reyes and R. Karnati, (2015). A Systematic Review of
Parenting Programmes for Young Children in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, 2015.
15. S. Backhaus, F. Gardner, M. Schafer, G.J. Melendez-Torres, W. Knerr and J.M., Parenting
Interventions to Prevent Child Maltreatment and Enhance Parent–Child Relationships
with Children Aged 0–17 years: Report of the systematic reviews of evidence, 2022.
Annex 71
ANNEX – B
MAPPING LEAD MINISTERIES FOR SUPPORTING ECD PARENTING

PROGRAMMES ACROSS COUNTRIES
Country Name of ECD parenting Lead ministry
Cambodia Cambodia Positive Parenting Ministry of Education, Youth and

Programme Sport oversees the programme.
The Ministry of Interior support the
rolling out of parenting programme
Nurturing Care Parenting at commune levels. The Ministry of
Programme Women’s Affairs also implements
the Positive Parenting Programme.
Parenting Programme Ministry of Education, Youth and

Sports
Caring for Our Children
China Community-based ECD Parenting Ministry of Education and all China
Support Women's Federation
Indonesia Enhancing Integrated Programming National Population and Family

on Positive Parenting with Nutrition Planning Agency and Ministry of
as Entry Point Women's Empowerment and Child
Protection
Ensuring Mental Health and
Psychosocial Support for Children
Lao PDR Love and Care for Every Child Ministry of Education
Malaysia Belaian Kasih Ministry of Women, Family and

Community Development and
National Population and Family
Development Board (LPPKN)
is the primary government
Semarak Kasih Parenting
agency responsible for family
Programme (later called Naungan
support under the Ministry of
Kasih Positive Parenting
Women, Family and Community
Programme) [PLH]
Development.
Mongolia Parenting Club programme Ministry of Education and Science,
Ministry of Health and Ministry of
Labour and Social Protection
Myanmar Early Childhood Intervention In the initial design of ECI, the

Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief
and Resettlement (MSWRR) led
the programme in collaboration
with 11 other ministries
Papua New Parenting for Child Development
Guinea (P4CD) Programme: Pasin Bilong
Lukautim Pikinini Gut in Tok Pisin
(How to Care for Children Well)
Philippines Family Support Program of the ECCD Council, with member
ECCD Council of the Philippines agencies: Department of
Education, Department of Social
Parent Effectiveness Service Welfare and Development,
Department of Health, National
Masayang Pamilya Para sa Batang Nutrition Council
Pilipino Program (MaPa) and
e-MaPa
Samoa Positive Discipline for Everyday Ministry of Women Community and
Parenting Social Development and Ministry
of Health
Solomon ECD Parenting Programme in Provincial Government of
Islands Guadalcanal Province – Hapi en Guadalcanal Province
Helti Pikini Initiative
Thailand Early Moments Matter on Mobile There is no one single ministry. The
(EMMM) Ministry of Public Health is the lead
in providing parenting programme
Parenting Schools for children aged 0–2 years through
their hospital-based services
and home visit for pregnant and
lactating women. Ministry of Social
Development and Human Security
has the Family Development
Centers.
Parenting for Lifelong Health for Ministry of Public Health
Young Children
Annex 73
Thailand Developmental Surveillance and The Ministry of Public Health

Promotion Manual has an important leadership
role both in terms of developing
technical guidance and ensuring
implementation of parenting
programmes to support ECD.
However, there is currently no
Developmental Surveillance and government agency that can
Promotion Manual-guided sessions serve as the central ‘host’ of
and home visits parenting programmes and there
is no agreement across ministries
on what parenting programmes
for the general population and/
or specific target groups, at a
minimum, should look like.
Timor- Parenting Sessions for Community- Ministry of Social Solidarity and
Leste based Preschool Teachers Inclusion
Parenting Family in Timor-Leste

Hametin Família parenting
programme
Vanuatu Parenting Support Programme Ministry of Education
Viet Nam Pilot IECD programme (one of Ministry of Labour, Invalids and
them is called Holistic Parenting Social Affairs has engaged other
Programme) ministries and agencies in the
design and implementation of
this IECD scheme, including the
Ministry of Health, the Ministry
of Education and Training and the
Fatherland Front.
IECD Holistic Parenting Ministry of Health and Ministry of
Programme (Nobody's Perfect Education
Parenting Programme)
ANNEX – C
CONTEXT OF ECD PARENTING PROGRAMMES ACROSS COUNTRIES
Name of the Area

Country Age group
programme (rural/urban, location)
Cambodia Cambodia Positive Pregnancy to Rural
Parenting Programme 17 years
Nurturing Care Parenting 0–6 Rural and urban

Programme
MOEYS-led Parenting Pregancy-5 Rural

Programme
Parenting Education Younger than 6 5 districts in Rattanakiri and
Programme years Kratie Provinces
Strengthening the Child Pregnancy to 2 provinces: Prey Veng and
Protection System 18 years Tboung Khmoum
Parenting Programme
China OneSky for All Children Intended for Rural
(China): Creating Better children aged
Beginnings for Children 0–3 years but
Left Behind also covers
caregivers with
children aged
3–6 years
Community-based ECD 0–6 years Rural and urban
Parenting Support
An integrated parenting 0.5–1.5 years Rural
programme
Annex 75
Name of the Area

Country Age group
Indonesia Local Food 6–9 months Tanah Datar District in West
Supplementation and Sumatera Province
Psychosocial Stimulation
Families First with 0–7 years West Java province
Home Visitation This is a priority area for the
Programme (Ruiz- implementing agency due
Casares 2019) to high incidence of child
protection concerns such as
being a well-known sending
area for human trafficking
and migrant workers to
the Middle East or Asia
and institutionalization of
children.
Lao PDR Love and Care for Every 0–6 (survey) Rural
Child (LCEC) younger than 7
Malaysia Belaian Kasih 0–12
Semarak Kasih 0–23 months,
Parenting Programme 2–9 years
(later called Naungan
Kasih Positive Parenting
Programme) [PLH]
Early Moments/Years 0–6 years
Matter
First 1,000 Days ECD
Mongolia Parenting Club 0–5 years
programme
Myanmar Early Childhood Younger than 5

Intervention years
Papua New Parenting for Child 0–9 years Rural: Madang, Western
Guinea Development (P4CD) Highlands, Chimbu, Jiwaka
programme: Pasin Provinces
Bilong Lukautim Pikinini
Gut in Tok Pisin (How to
Care for Children Well)
Philippines Save the Children 0–3 Select areas of Luzon and
(Philippines) First Read Mindanao
Program: A Culturally
Sensitive Parenting
Approach to Promoting
Early Childhood Literacy
and Learning
Name of the Area

Country Age group
Philippines Family Support 0–4 Rural and urban
Programme of the
ECCD Council of the
Philippines
Parent Effectiveness 0–4 (survey)
Service (PES) 0–18 (2021 law)
Pantawid Pamilyang 0–14 Manila
Pilipino Programme
(Bridging Programme
for the Filipino Family),
commonly known as the
4Ps
Samoa Positive Discipline for All age groups Rural and urban
Everyday Parenting including ECD
Solomon ECD Parenting 0–5

Islands Programme in
Guadalcanal Province
- Hapi en Helti Pikini
Initiative
Thailand Early Moments Matter 0–6
on Mobile (EMMM)
Parenting Schools 0–2 13 Health Promotion
Centres and some
provincial hospitals
Parenting for Lifelong 2–9 4 subdistricts of Udon Thani
Health for Young Province
Children
Developmental 0–3
Surveillance and
Promotion Manual-
guided sessions and
home visits
Family School sessions 0–6 3 communities in each of
12 provinces
ECD Demonstration 3–5 659 ECD Centres in 24 of
Programme the 77 provinces of the
country
Keeping Families 101: 3–5
Together and 101
Positive Discipline
Programme
Annex 77
Name of the Area

Country Age group
Timor- Parenting Sessions Preschool age
Leste for Community-based
Preschool Teachers
Parenting Family in 0–18 2 pilot municipalities:
Timor-Leste Ermera and Viqueque
Hametin Família
parenting programme
Alternative Pre-School Ermera and Viqueque
Programme’s Informal municipalities
Learning Sessions on
Parenting
Mother’s Support Group 0–3 11 municipalities
Mother’s Caring 0–6 5 municipalities: Covalima,
Groups Within the Safe Ermera,
Motherhood Project Atsabe, Laclo and Aldeia
Sorate
Mother Support Groups Pregnancy to 5
within ECD Programme
Better Food Better Pregnancy to 5 4 municipalities: Aileu,
Health Project (a Baucau, Bobonaro and
nutrition-sensitive Covalima
agriculture project)
Mother’s Support Group 0–2
Vanuatu Parenting Support 0–5 Rural and urban
Programme (PSP)
Viet Nam Plan International’s 0–8 Plan: 7 provinces
Parent Education Women’s Union: 38
Programming provinces
Learning Clubs, ECD- 0–2
focused parenting
sessions and home
visits
ECD parenting support 0–5 6 provinces: Hai Phong, Ha
Noi, Yen Bai, Son La, Dak
Lak, Tien Giang
IECD Holistic Parenting 0–8 Rural and urban: three
Programme (Nobody's provinces – Dien Bien, Gia
Perfect Parenting Lai, and Kon Tum – and an
Programme) industrial zone of Ho Chi
Minh City
ANNEX – D
DATA COLLECTION TOOLS
Online survey
1) Recruitment email
Dear [COLLEAGUE NAME],
I am Zuyi Fang, a UNICEF EAPRO-ROSA ECD consultant. UNICEF EAPRO and ROSA
are undertaking a mapping of key parenting initiatives and programmes, policies,
strategies, and practices, guided by the components of the Nurturing Care Framework,
that are being implemented in the two regions in relation to young children aged 0 to
8. Findings will help inform UNICEF’s work in promoting and supporting family support
programmes with a focus on parenting for responsive caregiving for early childhood
development and be used in advocacy efforts with governments and partners in this
regard.
Given your expertise in early childhood development and parenting in [COUNTRY],

we are wondering if it would it be possible for you to help us fill in this online survey:
survey link.
It takes 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of programmes. The questions focus

on programme nature, practices, and policies in supportive parenting in [COUNTRY].
You will also be asked to share any relevant programme and policy documents (e.g.,
reports, websites, manuals, etc.). Preparing the documents in advance will save your
time! We would also appreciate it if you could forward this survey to anyone that might
help further our understanding.
Could you please let us know by [DATE] whether you would be able to participate in
the survey? The survey will remain open until [DATE]. Please feel free to reach out if
you have any questions regarding this project and survey.
We would be truly grateful for your time and support. We look forward to hearing from
you. Thank you very much!
Annex 79
2) Survey
Dear Colleague,
Thank you very much for taking the time to participate in this survey! This project is
initiated by UNICEF EAPRO and ROSA, aiming at understanding key parenting initiatives
and programmes, policies, strategies and practices, guided by the components of the
Nurturing Care Framework, that are being implemented in the East Asia and Pacific
and South Asia regions in relation to young children (aged 0-8), including with UNICEF
support. Given your expertise, we would like to ask for your help learning how parenting
programmes are supported and delivered in your country. The information you provide
will help inform UNICEF's work in promoting and supporting family support programmes
with a focus on parenting for responsive caregiving for early childhood development.
The findings will also be used in advocacy efforts with governments and partners in
this regard.
What programmes are we interested in?
PARENTING It refers to interactions, behaviours, emotions, knowledge, beliefs,

attitudes and practices associated with the provision of nurturing care, encompassing
health, nutrition, responsive caregiving, safety and security, social- emotional well-
being, and early learning.
PARENTING PROGRAMME
UNICEF defines parenting programme as "interventions or services aimed at supporting

parenting interactions, behaviours, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and practices".
DELIVERY ---- The programmes/services can be individual or group-based parenting

interventions for parents of children aged 0-8 years. We may also consider other family
support programmes with parenting components. We will consider in-person and
online programmes/services, as well as hybrid delivery that combines both.
PARENT UNICEF defines parent as "any guardian or caregiver providing consistent

care to the child", such as biological parents, grandparents, other relatives, and non-
relatives. We do not include caregivers in institutional/residential settings.
CHILD AGE 0-8 years.
READINESS FOR SCALE-UP We are specifically interested in programmes/services

that show some readiness for scale-up (e.g., large reach and scale; strong partnership
development; stable funding source(s), integrated or seeking to be integrated
into existing service systems, or other aspects of system readiness; evidence and
evaluation; and low cost). The programmes do not have to be convened by UNICEF.
If you are not sure if your intervention fits within our scope, please feel free to reach
out to us ([email protected]) or provide as many details as possible in this survey so we
can consider your data in the analysis.
This survey should be filled either by one colleague collating all information from other
colleagues (if needed) or by multiple colleagues working on the survey collectively

rather than separately. Each office/organisation only needs to submit one survey.
You will be asked to share documents related to the parenting programmes/initiatives,

practices, family-friendly policies, and strategies that you report. Preparing them in
advance will save your time!
It takes approximately 15-30 minutes to complete. Although there is no 'Save and

Resume' button, your answers are automatically saved when you close the survey.
You will see your answers when you re-enter the survey using the same device. We
would also be grateful if you could share this survey with anyone, within or beyond your
organisation, that you believe might help further our understanding.
Thank you very much!
Your information
Q1. Name of your organisation
Q2. Your email address and how we may address you
Q3. The country that you are going to focus on when filling in this survey
Cambodia China Indonesia DPR Korea Lao PDR
Malaysia Mongolia Myanmar Papua New Philippines

Guinea
Thailand Timor-Leste Viet Nam Afghanistan Bangladeshi
Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan
Sri Lanka Cook Islands Fiji Kiribati Marshall

Islands
Federated Nauru Niue Palau Samoa

States of
Micronesia
Solomon Tokelau Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu

Islands
What parenting programmes/services are there in your country?

Annex 81
Please focus on one programme in this section. When you reach the end of this section,
you will have the opportunity to report another programme.
Q4. Programme/service 1: name or brand
Q5. Target population

Please indicate the following information where applicable.
A. Child age B. Type of parents/caregivers C. Socioeconomic status

(e.g., biological parents, foster/ (e.g., income, education, or
adoptive parents, grandparents, occupation)
or other relatives)
D. Urban/rural E. Literacy level F. Other
Q6. Current scale of delivery

Please specify:
1) the approximate total numbers of beneficiaries, implementation sites, and (trained)
facilitators/deliverers; and
2) geographical location(s) of delivery.
If you find it difficult to determine the level of scale/delivery, please use the 'Other'
option to describe the scale.
A. Country- B. Regional/county-
level level C. Community- D. Other
level
Q7. Actors involved

Please specify the name of actors (e.g., government, NGO, academical institution,
business, others) involved in any aspect of implementation
A. Government B. NGO C. Academic D. Business E. Other

institution
Q8. Could you please share with us/point us to any programme documents, reports,
websites, training manuals, or other resources that can provide more information
about this programme, such as programme aims, theories, contents, delivery
methods, cultural sensitivity, and evaluations?
Please provide links here. You can also share files below.
Q9. You can also provide related files by clicking the 'Choose file' button.
Q10. Would you like to report another parenting programme/service?

If you have other comments, please use the 'Other' option.
Yes No Other
Enabling environment
Please provide as many details in your answers as possible. You can also share relevant
documents/resources at the end of this section.
Q11. What family-friendly policies and social protection measures are supportive of
parenting in your country?
Please provide details and/or URLs about the policies you mentioned above. Alternatively,
you can share related documents in the next question.
Paid parental, maternal Supported breast feeding (e.g., Financial benefits

or paternal leave remunerated breastfeeding and
lactation breaks)
In-kind benefits Social insurances/security/ Other

assistance
Annex 83
Q12. How is the private sector involved in parenting support in your country?
Q13. Share documents related to the aforementioned family-friendly policies and social
protection measures supportive of parenting, and private sector involvement.
Q14. What ministry or ministries oversee the parenting programme(s) you mentioned?
What ministry or ministries are engaged in parenting programme(s) you mentioned?
Q15. How are parenting programmes usually financed?

Please answer this question based on the programmes you reported in earlier sections.
Q16. How are parents/caregivers referred to the parenting programme(s) you mentioned?
Please also indicate the contact points within health, nutrition, protection, and/or
education sectors.
Q17. What trainings (including supervisions, ongoing feedback, education, and other
resources) are available to build staff capacity and support the delivery of parenting
services?
Please indicate the content and format of the training, as well as tools used in the
training. You can also provide URLs, or upload related information at the end of the
section.
Q18. Please share any documents and/or resources that will help us gain more
insights into the information (i.e., governance, finance, training, and beneficiary
engagement) you mentioned, by providing URLs or uploading them on this survey
or email them to us ([email protected]).
Promotion of equity
Q19. What parenting services are provided to male caregivers?

Please answer this question based on the programme(s) you reported in earlier sections.
If the programme(s) target female caregivers only, you can also report other parenting
services for male caregivers that exist within your country. This also applies to the
following questions about services for caregivers of children with disabilities, adolescent
caregivers, and parental mental health support.
Q20. What parenting services are provided to caregivers of children with disabilities?
Annex 85
Q21. What parenting services are provided to support adolescent caregivers?

By 'adolescent caregivers', we mean teen parents.
Q22. What parenting services are integrated with resources to support parental mental
health?
Q23. Please share any documents and/or resources that will help us gain more insights
into the services that promote equity, by providing URLs or uploading them on this
survey or email them to us ([email protected]).
Could you kindly help us disseminate this survey?

Please feel free to share with us the contact information or directly send the survey to
others.
Q24. Directly send the survey to others
Yes, will do! No, not for now.
You have reached the end of the survey. Please click 'submit' below and your answers
will be sent to us confidentially.
Thank you very much for your participation!
Pilot debrief
Thank you very much for helping us pilot the survey! This is part of our review of parenting
programmes for young children aged 0-8 in East Asia and Pacific and South Asia regions.
The purpose of this call is to learn about your opinions on this survey and understand
areas for improvement before we send it to the other countries. This call will last no more
than 20 minutes. Before we start, do you have any questions?
Questions:
1. Did you encounter any technical problems?
• Any questions or option choices that could have been arranged in a better layout?
• Any situation where you wanted to provide some information but did not identify
where to enter it?
2. Did the introduction section provide you with clear and adequate background
information and survey instructions? (Definitions of key terms)
3. Did you find any question difficult to understand or answer?
4. Was there anything that did not make sense to you, or you found ambiguous?
5. How long did it take to complete the survey?
• What might be done to shorten the time (while still covering all essential aspects)?
6. Do you have any other comments or suggestions?
Thank you very much for your feedback!
Semi-structured interview guide for case study interviews

1) Opening words
I would like to thank you for taking the time to participate in this interview. My name
is Zuyi Fang. I am part of a UNICEF EAPRO and ROSA parenting initiative, undertaking
a review of parenting programmes for young children aged 0-8 in East Asia and Pacific
and South Asia regions. The purpose of this interview is to learn about your views and
experiences in parenting programmes in [COUNTRY NAME].
Our conversation will last for no more than 1.5 hours. With your permission, I will audio-
record to ensure that all your responses are accurately captured. Our call is confidential
and anonymous, meaning that your identity will be kept private in any published
documents or when we share your de-identified data with other researchers.
Please let me know if any question is not clear and needs clarification. Please also
remember that you have the right not to answer any question for any reason. You can stop
the interview at any time when you feel like doing so.
Please know that our conversation is completely confidential and anonymous. We would
really appreciate your accurate, candid, and detailed answers.
Before we start, do you have any questions?
2) Interview questions and probes (which will be modified based on desk review
results and tailored to reflect the role and expertise of interviewee):
Annex 87
A. Background Information:
1. How would you describe your and/or your organization’s role in supporting parenting
programmes/services in [COUNTRY]?
• Probes:
• have you/your organization been involved in any parenting initiatives?
2. (if applicable) Can you briefly describe the programmes that you are familiar with/you
are supporting?
• Probes:
• Lead agency, target population, type, aims, location, scale, training, evidence, etc.
B. Enabling Environment:
3. What are the most important family-friendly policies and social protection measures
related to parenting in [COUNTRY]?
• Probes:
• What is the overall goal for parenting programmes in [COUNTRY]?
• Have sectoral plans been developed for meeting the goal?
• How are the plans funded?
• Who are the main actors/partners in implementation?
• How are efforts coordinated across partners and sectors [or how do you coordinate
your support with other partners, depending on the role of interviewee]? Who is
the lead body? Is there a point person?
• Are there any policy gaps and barriers? What needs to be done?
4. What are the main sources of funding for parenting services? [in general, or in relation
to the programme(s) mentioned above]
• Probes:
• Is there a dedicated line for parenting services in the (national) budget?
• Are budget allocations tracked and monitored?
• Is budget adequate?
5. What efforts have been undertaken to build the capacity to provide parenting services
in [COUNTRY]? [in general, or in relation to the programme(s) mentioned above]
• Probes:
• Training, education, professional development opportunities, supervision, ongoing
feedback, guidelines, etc.
• What are some of the tools and materials?
6. How are programme delivery (e.g., fidelity and quality of delivery) and impact on
beneficiaries monitored and evaluated?
• Probes:
• Routine M&E, formal evaluations, staff reflections, etc.
• How are standardized tools used?
• How is participant engagement measured (e.g., attention and attrition rates)?
C. Demand:
7. Are parenting services offered through a variety of platforms/modalities?
• Probes:
• What platforms are often used?
• How are parents referred/recruited to different parenting services/programmes?
• Who can make the referral/recruitment?

• How do people within different sectors collaborate?
• What have been done to engage parents in those services? Are there any
awareness-raising or service promotion activities to generate the demand? Are
parents incentivized to take part in the programme(s)?
• What measures are undertaken to promote engagement among caregivers at
higher risk of attrition? How is participant engagement monitored?
• Are there barriers to access? How are they addressed?
D. Supply:
8. Who are the facilitators/service providers?
• Probes:
• Under what ministry or sector are they?
9. How are parenting programmes utilized to support child learning and development in
[COUNTRY]? [in general, or in relation to the programme(s) mentioned above]
• Probes:
• Are they integrated with other child and family services?
• Do they also play a role in child protection/prevent violence against children and
neglect?
10. Are they also supportive of parental mental health? How parental mental health
problems are identified? Are they linked to other mental health services? How, if at all,
do parenting programmes give particular emphasis to special populations? [in general,
or in relation to the programme(s) mentioned above]
• Probes:
• Child age group
• Caregivers of young children with disabilities
• Adolescent caregivers
• Male caregivers. How do the programmes address gender norms?
E. Highlights, Challenges, and Key Learnings:

11. Overall, in your opinion, what are the main highlights and challenges in terms of
delivering parenting programmes/services in [COUNTRY]?
• Probes:
• What are the strengths and weaknesses in terms of national policies, guidelines,
and leadership?
• What are the biggest constraints in terms of service provision? (e.g., infrastructure,
government support, staff, evidence, engagement, cultures, etc.)
• What do you think should be done to improve parenting service deliver in
[COUNTRY]?
12. Overall, what are the key learnings while scaling up parenting programme(s) in
[COUNTRY]?
3) Closing
Thank you very much again for participating in this interview and sharing your insights
with us. Your answers are valuable and will contribute substantially to our efforts to
improve parenting services in [COUNTRY] and East Asia and Pacific and South Asia
regions.
Annex 89
Standardized data collection form
Topic Country Name Notes
Family friendly policies

Enabling Environment
Social protection measures

and Governance
Lead ministry (if any)

Other ministries involved
Private sector involvement
Finance
Whether integrated into
sectoral plans
Programme Programme
1 2
Name
Lead organization(s)
Type
(universal, selective, indicated)
Theoretical background/
conceptual framework/theory
of change
Definition of parenting
Key content
- related to early learning and
development
Programme(s)
- related to violence
prevention
- related to parental mental
health
- related to joint problem
solving
Target population
- Age group
Facilitators
Area (rural/urban,
geographical location, etc.)
Scale of delivery
Evidence
Cultural consideration(s)
Topic Country Name Notes

Programme Programme
1 2
- Offered in mother tongue of

caregivers
Other aspects
Contact points (in health,
nutrition, protection, and
Programme Delivery
education sectors)
Actors in implementation
Participant engagement
Capacity building (wider)
- Content
- Format
- Tools and materials
Other services to promote
child learning (within
parenting
Other services to prevent
Service Integration
violence (within parenting

programmes)
Other services to promote
parental mental health (within
parenting programmes)
- Identification
- Referral
- Targeting vulnerable
caregivers
Young children with
Disability
Inclusion
disabilities
- General parental support
- Parenting support
Male engagement in
parenting programmes
Equality
Gender
Promotion of positive gender

norms (within parenting
programmes)
Area 1: Mental well-being and learning 91
UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO)

19 Phra Athit Road, Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200
Facebook: www.facebook.com/unicefeap/
Twitter: @UnicefAsiaPac
Website: www.unicef.org/eap/
Tel: +66 2 356 9499
Fax: +66 2 280 3563
Email: [email protected]

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MAPPING EARLY CHILDHOOD

DEVELOPMENT PARENTING PROGRAMMES

UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

EAPRO East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (UNICEF)

© UNICEF/UNI310305/Sinis VII Photo

CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS

Parenting, also referred to as caregiving, involves the “interactions, behaviours, emotions,

Nurturing care is defined as “conditions created by public policies, programmes and

Responsive caregiving involves caring, timely and appropriate responses by caregivers to

The concept of family-friendly policies introduced by UNICEF has emerged as a way of

About the study

In the context of addressing these challenges, support for caregivers in

Enabling policy environment and governance mechanisms

Enabling policy environment and governance mechanisms for

Establishing an enabling policy environment and governance mechanisms

Policy and legislative framework

Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms

Supply of ECD parenting programmes in the region

Focus and scope of the parenting programmes

Most programmes focus on caregivers of children aged from birth up to 5

Approximately half of the programmes involve interested individuals or

Demand and access to ECD parenting programmes in

Most of the programmes are delivered in mother tongue, while

Regarding disability inclusion, one programme is designed for families

In terms of male engagement, three programmes incorporate content

GAPS AND CHALLENGES

Lack of enabling policy environment Slow policy response:

Limited use and generation of Limited research and evaluation

Limited focus on violence Lack of a whole-of-government

Lack of tiered support: Only a limited Resource constraints: Implementing

Limited incorporation of cultural Reduced cultural relevance: Limited

A regional momentum in delivering parenting interventions: There is a regional momentum

UNICEF advocacy in ECD parenting support: Parenting support is recognized as critical by

Promoting community-centric approaches to service delivery: Interested individuals or

Increasing availability of evidence: There is a growing body of high-quality evidence of

Recommendations for creating enabling policy environment and strengthening

ACTION TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON

Strengthen the Conduct a Collaborate with Conduct studies

ACTION TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON

Enhance evidence- Strengthen data- Support capacity- Explore innovative

ACTION TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON

Maximize cross- Leverage the Facilitate Study successful

Recommendations for supporting the effective supply of parenting programmes

ACTION TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON

Build on a tiered Establish a tiered Collaborate with Research effective

Allocate resources Support the Investigate the cost-

Leverage the use of Identify and utilize Support Research successful

Foster Provide technical Evaluate the

ACTION TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON

Harness the Explore and Provide technical Investigate the

Strengthen the Establish a Provide technical Study the impact of

Recommendations for promoting access to ECD parenting programmes by creating

ACTION TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON

Adopt a Develop and Support Conduct research to

Invest in pre- and Collaborate Study the long-

ACTION TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON

Promote inclusivity Establish or Provide financial Evaluate the impact of

Integrate gender- Collaborate with Leverage trainings Conduct longitudinal