Cognitive and Socioemotional Caregiving in Mothers, Fathers, and Children’s Other Caregivers from 51 Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Abstract

SYNOPSIS Objective. Cognitive and socioemotional caregiving practices are both important for child development, but little is known about the extent to which children’s different caregivers engage in the two types of practices or their relative effects on child development, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Design. The current study investigates how often mothers, fathers, and children’s other caregivers in 159,959 families from 51 LMICs engage in cognitive versus socioemotional caregiving practices, associations between these caregiving practices, and how the balance between these practices predicts child development. Results. Caregivers reportedly engage in more socioemotional than cognitive caregiving practices in all LMICs examined at all levels of national development. The more mothers, fathers, and other caregivers reportedly engage in cognitive caregiving practices, the more they engage in socioemotional parenting practices. Engaging in cognitive caregiving practices is the strongest predictor of early childhood development when considering cognitive caregiving, socioemotional caregiving, and the balance between the two types of caregiving. Conclusions. Promoting increased caregiver use of cognitive caregiving and integration of cognitive and socioemotional caregiving could close the gap between the number of cognitive and socioemotional caregiving activities parents engage in and potentially promote child development in LMICs.