A 34-percent reduction in shouting and spanking in Brazil. Children in Indonesia turning chores into joyful play. Fathers in Kenya tripling daily playtime with their kids. These are measurable outcomes of a behavioural science training programme that is transforming early childhood development, especially in low- and middle-income countries. 

Called ABC for ECD (Applying Behavioural Science for Early Childhood Development), the programme features psychologically-designed, low-cost interventions that change how parents, caregivers and early childhood professionals interact with young children during the critical first years of life.

The course was designed by five leading organisations: INSEAD, Save the Children and its behavioural science unit CUBIC, BVA Nudge Consulting, the Van Leer Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. It trains leaders from government, business, philanthropy and civil society to use behavioural science tools to nudge kids to their highest potential.

Simple tools, profound impact

One team from Allma Hub in Brazil embedded an intervention in their “Pé de Infância” programme that discourages caregivers from yelling at or hitting children aged below 3. Their toolkit includes simple messages such as “breathe and count to three before losing it”, delivered via WhatsApp, influencer videos and pamphlets, as well as bibs emblazoned with reminders like “Be patient with me, I’m still learning”.

More than 7,500 children and their parents in three Brazilian regions participated in the intervention. The result is encouraging: a 34-percent decline in shouting, insulting and spanking and a 23-percent drop in punishments like depriving children of toys. Allma Hub now plans to expand their initiative to schools in different parts of Brazil.

In Indonesia, Tanoto Foundation launched Ber3, a pilot programme that integrated play-based parent–child activities into household chores. Fifty-two caregivers received daily WhatsApp tips and simple tools to make activities fun and intellectually stimulating. The result? Children’s playtime increased to more than 15 minutes a day without adding to parents’ workload. One mother observes, “My children are now always involved in household activities. They feel it’s like play.” 

Tanoto has joined forces with the Ministry of Health on a new pilot similar to Ber3. Starting this month the through the next year , the pilot will reach out to families through five village health centres and 24 community service posts, showing parents how everyday moments can help their children thrive.

In the Netherlands, Promoting Active Mobility (PAM) pioneered an initiative to encourage parents to walk or cycle with their children to daycare instead of driving. The nudge: Not appeals about health but a simple child-friendly poster in the centres, coupled with stickers for kids to paste on the poster whenever they bike or walk to daycare. 

This spurred both children and parents. Kids were eager to put their sticker on the poster while parents wanted to help their children participate. The pilot, involving three centres and 600 families, was so successful that it has been expanded to 10 centres and 2,000 participants.

Wendy Scholtes-Bos, a PAM representative, says ABC for ECD was a “real eye-opener”. “Before the programme, we thought that simply telling parents about physical activity for kids would be a key enabler for change, but it wasn't,” recalls Scholte. “It was about other things that were important to them... so to look together with them the drivers and barriers (to change), that was very important.”

The science behind ABC for ECD

These initiatives embody three core behavioural science principles taught in the programme:

1. Closing the intention–action gap. Parents often intend to spend more time with their children but struggle due to fatigue or cultural norms, as fathers in Kenya did. Identifying such barriers leads to the development of better interventions.
2. Data-driven design. Participants are trained to measure behavioural outcomes, not just activities, ensuring limited resources are used on strategies that work.
3. Integrated leadership development. Beyond behavioural tools, leaders learn to implement evidence-based approaches, work collaboratively with colleagues and partners, and facilitate organisational change.

A key strength of behavioural science-based initiatives is scalability at low cost. Unlike traditional ECD programmes requiring infrastructure or mass campaigns, behavioural nudges can be designed quickly, tested locally and scaled pragmatically using tools like text reminders, visual prompts or tweaks to physical and social environments.

Participant-centric approach

Between 2022 and 2025, ABC for ECD trained eight cohorts of about 40 participants each from governments, NGOs, foundations and businesses. Guided by INSEAD professors and facilitators from Save the Children and BVA Nudge Consulting, participants identified behavioural challenges, learned new tools through in-person sessions over a week, then implemented tailored action plans over six months with online coaching. The programme concluded with a virtual workshop where teams shared their progress, challenges and achievements.

At first, some participants doubted the social sector would embrace behavioural science, but participants quickly recognised its cost-effectiveness and impact-driven potential. 

In Kenya, for example, a local NGO called ADS Nyanza helped fathers add at least seven minutes of playtime to daily farm work. Average playtime for 527 participating children and their fathers tripled from five to 15 minutes per day.

For Jordan’s Queen Rania Foundation, the course provided its executives with the behavioural science grounding to launch Iqrali (“Read to me”), a platform encouraging parents to read with children under six. 

One executive explains: “It wasn’t just a one-off training… it was comprehensive.” The foundation is now investing in becoming a leading behavioural science hub for the Middle East.

A game-changer

The programme’s success rests on the strengths and collaboration of its founding partners. The Van Leer Foundation provided the vision, funding and networks; INSEAD brought expertise in behavioural science and leadership development; Save the Children and CUBIC contributed context-rich ECD and behavioural science implementation experience; BVA Nudge Consulting supplied practical implementation tools. Together, they made the programme both rigorous and grounded.

Sam Sternin, Behaviour Change Consultant at the Van Leer Foundation, calls ABC for ECD a game-changer. “We’ve definitely seen a number of teams who have really integrated these (behavioural science) tools into their core work, and it has dramatically changed the types of impact they are able to have for families with young children,” he says.

Sternin notes that some of the most successful teams on the programme were from low-income countries or faced strong structural barriers such as cultural discrimination. “This shows that these tools and these approaches can help organisations and governments regardless of where they are from.”

As an executive education initiative, ABC for ECD fits snugly into Van Leer Foundation’s philanthropic approach. Andrea Torres, Director of Programme Support and Learning at Van Leer, says that the foundation is committed to building the capacity and technical capabilities of the organisations they work with through “top-notch, strategic executive education courses”. 

“Because when you are implementing and delivering services on the ground you also need the time to be away from your daily routine, to have the access to content, share experience with other people, having knowledge of other geographies, having a network.”

Importantly, the concepts and tools developed for the ABC for ECD programme can be applied to any domain where institutions seek to change human behaviour – from improving financial health to promoting sustainability. Behavioural science can become a powerful lever for societal progress.

We invite governments, donors, NGOs and foundations to join us in scaling and localising ABC for ECD. Whether through funding, policy support or adopting the methodology, you can leverage a proven platform to help more children thrive during their most formative years.