Zinia Jasmin Karim, Photo: Prabir Das

With the kind of talent and skills that she possessed, she could have earned much more name, fame and money in a different profession. But her heart lay elsewhere. She'd always wanted to work in a field that allowed her to make a difference in children's lives. Her immense love and passion for children has led Zinia Jasmin Karim to be a child counselor, a teacher, and most importantly, an expert in the field of early childhood development (ECD).

Not everyone would feel comfortable talking to a stranger about their child. You need to win parents over with your knowledge, experience and patience, and that's what Zinia does. After working as a significant member in the faculty of Bangladesh School Muscat and senior teacher of early years at Australian International School, she had attained her Post Graduate Certificate, diploma and MSC degree in Early Childhood Development at BRAC University. Her fifteen years of experience in Bangladesh and abroad as a teacher and counselor and her self-warmth have made her a favourite among the parents who seek her expertise in bringing up their children. “In addition to working as a counselor, I also facilitate a variety of workshops, teacher training and parenting sessions on early childhood development in various reputed corporate organisations and schools. My mission is to help children reach their full potential and build up awareness among the parents about the importance of ECD, to ensure a better future for our children.”

Since so many of us are unaware of ECD, we are unwittingly damaging our children's development, believes the expert: “The major misconception that we have regarding children's schooling is that they should start attending schools only when they are 4 years old. However, early childhood, when a child's mental, intellectual, emotional and social faculties grow at an astounding rate, is a crucial learning stage. Therefore providing them a stimulating and positive environment is very important, that's what a good preschool promises to do.” Keeping that in mind Zinia decided to start something of a similar nature to ensure children's development in their early childhood.

“In today's world, as parents are very busy with their jobs, they might not be able to give their children the required amount of time and attention, she explains. “So they try and substitute their priceless time with material goods like expensive toys, video games, and junk food. These unhealthy tendencies result in various illnesses. Have you noticed how even toddlers these days are wearing glasses? It's just because their food habits are unhealthy, as is their dependency on video games and other gadgets. Have you noticed how many kids nowadays have speech disorders? Most of the time, they are too engrossed in watching television to practice their verbal skills.”
With that can-do spirit, she along with two of her friends, Rushmila Rahman and Sonia Yasmin Mian has committed herself to this initiative called Rainbow Valley. Situated in Gulshan-2, this centre promises a safe, positive and nurturing environment for the toddlers aged between one and three. “We keep learning all our lives, but not with the same intensity we show in the preschool years,” asserts Zinia. “Therefore I have designed a positive environment with a few programmes that will help children have early learning experiences that positively affect their cognitive, physical, language, social and emotional development.”

Rainbow Valley has RV clubs where children are allowed to learn through play. Photo: Courtesy

“We have taken this initiative keeping with two missions” explains Zinia. “Our parenting counseling aims to build awareness about early childhood development in our society”, she continues. Zinia believes that the parenting workshops will help us learn about how to handle some of the challenges of parenting and how to support their development while the preschool readiness programmes for toddlers (children between the age of 1 and 3 years) would be a wonderful opportunity for toddlers to be independent.

When you enter Rainbow Valley, it seems like a paradise for kids. It has RV clubs where children are allowed to learn through play and let their imagination run free with a range of stimulating activities like painting, gardening, playing, and even cooking. Different problem solving activities and games for cognitive development help children grow intellectually. “Also I am working with children with special needs in a way that allows assessment, early diagnosis and the provision of guidelines and therapy to those children,” Zinia adds.

“But even before that, we need to raise awareness about what early childhood development actually is. I want to instill the term ECD into every parent's mind so that they abide by the dos and don'ts during the early days of their kids' lives.”

“I am certain that if we learn more about ECD, we can stem the growth of conditions like ADD (Attention deficit disorder), speech delay, borderline autism etc,” Zinia ends optimistically.