Little Darlings Toddler Program

Little Darlings—the name we have given to the toddler group at the Mercy Home. These toddlers were abandoned by their parents, some are handicapped, most are female.  The handicapped ones most likely will not be adopted; a few toddlers are waiting for paper work to go through. They face a very challenging future especially in India, a country which tends not to value female and handicapped people. When they were with the smaller babies in the nursery, the heavy workload prevented the baby carers from providing the training and attention that these older babies need. So we are separating them into their own wing, with their own teacher and 'aya', (nanny.)
See photos

Our goals, in 'Lil Darlings' are the following:

• Make them feel loved and special
• Build positive self esteem
• Provide a structured schedule and environment to help them feel secure, and to provide necessary training in life skills, such as potty training, hygiene, learning to feed themselves, putting away their toys,  etc.
• Give them a healthy diet. (In India, almost half of children under five years of age (48 percent) are stunted, that is too short for their age, an indicator or chronic malnutrition, and 43 percent are underweight.—National Family Health Survey )
• Provide opportunities for them go outside and get good excercise, fresh air, and see nature (the Mercy Home is located in a rural area.)
• Utilise early learning techniques, in order to aid their mental and intellectual development.

New Additions to their Life

The toddlers now follow a structured schedule. New additions to their life include:

• Potty training.
• Feeding themselves sitting at a table.
• Supervised play with educational toys.
• Stories and songs.
• Picture flash cards.
• Fun playtime on ride-on toys, slide etc.
• Regular walks in the garden for the walking toddlers