The new roll out of the ICDP Parenting programme started in October 2020, after the completion of the baseline studies: the quantitative study using ISELA (International Social and Emotional Learning Assessment) and the qualitative study using TMSS and Activity with the child.
The ICDP parenting programme is part of the Save the Children Philippines Child Sensitive Social Protection (CSSP). The CSSP strategic intervention is in turn a part of the biggest social protection programme of the Philippine government, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Programme. During the period between October 2020 and February 2021, a total of 1,511 parents participated in the parenting sessions conducted weekly by the community facilitators.
The 1,511 parents came from 1,511 households comprised in total of 6,665 adults (3217 females; 3,448 males) and 2,876 children (1,423 girls;1,453 boys). There are already some positive results, which are based on parents’ testimonies and on reporting by facilitators after home visits to parents. Parents have started to manifest improved care giving practices such as: more affectionate and responsive, giving quality time to children, not yelling and scolding their children anymore. Children reported that they have seen and experienced more affection from their parents and that parents do not scold and shout at them anymore.
The four ICDP trainers at Save the Children Philippines monitor the parenting sessions using the locally adapted ICDP monitoring tools. They hold monthly meetings with facilitators to keep track of the progress of parents, facilitators and the overall delivery of the ICDP programme. At the monthly meetings trainers help facilitators to prepare their sessions with parents through role play and mock sessions. A care for carers session is conducted with facilitators every other month, as a space for debriefing and psychosocial support.
Attendance of fathers was a challenge and to mitigate this challenge a special course was developed for fathers. It includes a gender session to address gender stereotypes, power relations within the family and especially how fathers relate with their girl and boy children. This proved to be effective. Fathers opted to attend all the ICDP sessions after attending the first two-day sessions on Qualities of my Child and Caregiver, Gender and Empathy. Testimonies of mothers and children revealed that fathers became more loving and supportive to their children – which in turn served as a model followed by their boy children who too became loving and supportive.