RIYADH: Specialists in the government and academic sectors as well as others were invited to attend Al-Nahda Philanthropic Society for Women's celebration of a mother/child schooling program yesterday.
The program aimed at educating both the mother and the child, especially during the preschool period, is considered the first of its kind in the Kingdom.
The program was launched in Turkey and was designed based on research on early childhood development. By the year 2000, MOCEF (the Mother and Child Educational Foundation) offered aid to 75,000 mothers and children in 59 regions in Turkey.
The program is a substitute home education program that aims at educating the mother and the child together. Mothers are taught how to interact positively with their children and children are exposed to skills that better prepare them for schooling. The program also offers home visits to enhance relations between mother and child and supervise the application of the skills.
The program lasts for 25 weeks. Mothers get together once a week for two sessions during which issues related to caring for the child are discussed.
The program sets a minimum age for the child at five and mothers must be literate.
Al-Nahda Philanthropic Society had offered this program free of charge as part of its social responsibility toward mothers and children.
