Parenting quality at two developmental periods in early childhood and their association with child development

Abstract

Parenting quality—a child’s milieu of warmth, responsiveness, and stimulation—promotes a young child’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. An unanswered question, however, is about the relative contributions of parenting quality in infancy and in early childhood to disparities in child cognitive and socioemotional development by age five, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Understanding these relationships could inform better targeting of parenting programs in LMICs to yield greater effect size and consistency in improvements in early childhood development. This longitudinal study examines parenting quality and early childhood development among 603 children from poor, rural communities in Mexico who were assessed during infancy (4–18 months) and prekindergarten (3–5 years). Parenting quality (low, moderate, or high) was measured using the HOME Inventory in infancy and the Family Care Indicators (FCI) during prekindergarten. Child development was assessed in infancy using the Extended Ages and Stages Questionnaire (EASQ) and the ASQ Socioemotional scale, and during prekindergarten with the McCarthy Scales of Children’s Abilities. We found that parenting quality measures above the 25th percentile during infancy and prekindergarten were independently and significantly associated with a 0.26–0.30 SD increase in McCarthy scores at ages 3–5 years in adjusted analyses. Parental warmth and responsiveness in infancy were significant predictors of child development at ages 3–5 years, but parental stimulating practices and availability of learning materials in the home were not. Conversely, during the prekindergarten period, parental stimulating practices were significant predictors of concurrent child development. Our findings support the importance parenting quality throughout early childhood, and that the effect of aspects of parenting may vary from infancy to prekindergarten. Programs targeting parents of young children should tailor their curriculum to the specific ages of the targeted children.