Development of Innovative Picture Storybooks to Empower Parents and Teachers for Early Childhood Education in Nutrition and Social-Behavior in Jakarta

Abstract

Indonesia is experiencing a double burden of malnutrition, especially in young children. Many studies show that community empowerment and nutrition education are effective at reducing the risk of malnutrition when combined with attractive tools and appropriate nutrition and parenting messages. Therefore, we developed innovative picture storybooks as a fun learning tool to equip teachers and parents with a way to improve their understanding and awareness of the quality of early childhood dietary habits and social behavior. The study consisted of three stages, including formative research, book development, and evaluation. Our formative research triangulated information on preferences and key messages on food, nutrition, parenting, and child characteristics through focus group discussions (FGDs), in-depth interviews (IDIs), and observations of school food environments. The FGDs were held for the children (n=6), teachers (n=6), and mothers (n=6). The IDIs explored opinions from a story teller, a nutritionist, a communication expert, a child psychologist, and an illustrator team. Finally, books were developed by the researcher and evaluated by the expert team (n=10) and teachers (n=8). The study took place in early childhood education centers and kindergartens in Central Jakarta’s urban areas. Children preferred picture storybooks that represented a unique condition of magical power and provided characters from the fantasy genre. Following the IDI’s recommendations and observations, three picture storybook series were developed: healthy snacking, integrated with messages to stimulate a child’s disciplined behavior; eating vegetables, especially green ones, with the motivation to increase truthfulness; and a healthy eating portion guide with a variety of foods combined with messages to motivate grateful attitudes. The book content integrated key messages on nutrition, parenting, and social behavior with unique characters and colorful pictures. The expert team recommended the appropriate development of the picture storybooks and emphasized paying attention to clear genres, text structure, content, themes and ideas, language, vocabulary, illustrations and graphic design, and messages delivered. The picture storybooks present key messages on nutrition, parenting, and child behavior using an attractive, colorful and unique appearance. These books can be used to teach early childhood nutrition and parenting intervention by integrating them with other approaches such as story-telling, eating meals together, and other supporting activities.