Parents of schoolchildren in Kerala will soon get handbooks and have to attend orientation programmes on holistic growth in kids by identifying and addressing problems they might face, in a first-of-its-kind initiative by the state education department.

The handbooks that cover four stages of a child’s mental and physical growth and associated emotional developments are in the final stages of production for an August launch.

State primary education minister V. Sivankutty wrote on Facebook that the handbooks were part of "the curriculum reform programme".

"It is the first time in the country such booklets are being prepared for parents,” he said.

Dr Jayaprakash R.K., the director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), told The Telegraph on Wednesday that the handbooks were designed to keep the parents oriented about the growth and requirements of their children.

"Most parents in Kerala know much of what we are trying to address through these four handbooks. But there’s no harm in providing additional inputs prepared by experts in each field to make them (parents) better aware of the various stages children go through until they are ready to face the world,” said Jayaprakash.

One handbook each would be released for pre-primary, lower primary and upper primary, high school and higher secondary classes.

The handbooks for the higher classes would provide a synopsis of cyber crimes, sexual abuse, drug addiction, screen addiction (to mobile phones and computers), and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

The Kerala government had earlier decided to educate children about the Pocso Act after Kerala High Court in June 2022 called for generating awareness about the law while adjudicating a case involving minors.

“The stage-specific handbooks aim to better equip parents to handle the challenges in understanding the mental and physical changes and needs of their children. They will address current issues such as screen addiction, drug abuse, cyber crimes and the Pocso Act. The main idea is to empower parents on what to look for in their children in their holistic growth,” Jayaprakash said.

Arun B. Nair of the Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram is one of the noted psychiatrists who contributed to the handbooks' production.

“There are doctors, ENT specialists, dieticians, child psychologists and educationists who are part of the team that contributed to making the handbooks. Once the handbooks are released, schools will organise orientation sessions for parents who come to attend the parents-teachers meetings. This way they will be better equipped to understand the need for better awareness about various aspects of a child’s growth,” said the SCERT director.

Another key element in the handbooks for higher classes is career guidance.

“We know most parents in Kerala have a clear idea about what to study and where to study, but the handbooks will try to educate them about the need to keep the child’s skills and goals in mind. It’s often seen a child joining a medical school or engineering college only to satisfy his or her parent’s desire,” said Jayaprakash.

M.N. Karassery, an academic and former head of the department of Malayalam at Calicut University, welcomed the initiative.

"I had come across an incident when a parent approached a teacher to stop his son’s mobile phone addiction, but the teacher was reluctant to intervene out of fear of repercussions like self-harm or even running away from home. I feel better interactions between parents and teachers will help address such issues plaguing our society today,” Karassery told this newspaper.