Around 10,000 children, ages two to four years old, are enrolled in 668 Child Development Centers in Antique, which aim to nurture social-emotional skills.

Child development workers (CDWs) who are trained in handling children manage the centers, according to Carla Jee Ann Cabigunda, focal person for the Early Childhood Care and Development program under the Antique Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office.

“The CDWs serve as surrogate mothers-teachers and provide intellectual and mental stimulation as well as supervised play for the children,” Cabigunda said in an interview on Tuesday.

Republic Act 6972, or the Barangay-Level Total Development and Protection of Children Act, mandates the establishment of daycare centers in every village.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development provides supplementary feeding for their nutritional growth.

“We urge parents to support their children in their early education by ensuring that they attend their classes daily,” she said, adding that they only have to pay their registration fee and other necessary contributions. (PNA)