ABSTRACT
Home Environment of a child comprises of toys, books and stimulating play materials which are critical for promoting early development. Parents, family and atmosphere at home play a key role in stimulating child’s physical, cognitive and socio-emotional developments. This assessment was done in rural settings of forest buffer zone of Bor Tiger Sanctuary in Vidarbha to have a baseline picture about availability of play materials at households that promote child development and parent’s view about these play materials.METHODSThis was a cross-sectional survey which included assessment of 894 households in 45 villages from Seloo block of Wardha district. Survey tools included pretested questionnaire and home observation checklist which was administered at home visit and during interviews of parent-child dyads. Data was collected in android based ODK app and exported to server. Data imported from server was analysed using STATA-11.RESULTSAvailability of play materials as represented by Mean Item Availability Score (MIAS) was significantly associated with family structure, wealth index and parent’s education and occupation. Though 84.2% households had materials for moving around and outdoor play, only 26.9% households had materials for promoting coordinated gross-motor movements, 41.6% households had materials meant for stacking, constructing. Only 19.8% households had materials for learning shapes and colours, 29.8% households had picture books/charts, 32.4% households had materials for drawing and writing and only 11.3% children had materials promoting counting.CONCLUSIONSObvious gap can be seen in terms of paly materials available for under 5 children in rural and urban settings. Remote rural areas in this region need a well framed parenting program to sensitise parents about Early Child Development that can be blended with the existing ICDS program