This report discusses the roles of health, nutrition and informal education in the preschool education of children in southwest Ethiopia. Information for the report is drawn from data from a study of traditional maternity and child care in the Southern Shewa region of the country. Mother and child health is a priority in Ethiopian health planning. The 10-year health sector plan aims at a reduction of the infant mortality rate, an improvement in life expectancy, and a strengthening and expansion of services and programs. Elderly women in the region have sound knowledge about maternal health, deliveries, care and feeding of infants, and trado-pharmacological remedies. In the region, there is little attention to the preservation of beneficial nutritional practices, which are better than modern ones. Firsthand observations indicate that small children are given much attention by parents, siblings, and grandparents. During the first years of life, children play around their houses, often imitating adult life. Later, girls receive a practical education from their mothers. Women in the region usually speak three or four languages fluently, and children usually become bilingual at an early stage. During the past 15 years, a national preschool program has developed rapidly. (RJC)