Background: Analysis of family and community practices is a preliminary to the implementation of integrated programmes aiming at conveying quality of life, notably, by favourable health behaviour and global development of the young child promotion. Objective: To determine conditions of life and practice of the family and community relative to the social and mental development of the child from 0 to 5 years in the central region of Togo. Method: It was a descriptive cross-sectional sample survey, conducted simultaneously in the five districts of the central region, from 29th March to 8th April 2004. The sample included 983 households and 733 children less than five years old. We have studied sociodemographic data of the questioned subjects and children, social animation means and parental correction methods. Results: 73% of the questioned heads of the household were men, 53% monogamous, 50% illiterate and 87.5% were 25 years old or older. The main exerted economic activities were agriculture (57.7%), administration (16%) and trade (13.5%), and most subjects were married 82.9% (53% in monogamous regime against 29.9% in polygamous union). 506 questioned persons (6.3% under the age of 20) were concerned by daily responsibility beside children. The 733 children of the study (52% boys and 48% girls) had both parents in life in 97% of cases. Two thirds of the persons lived in the same room, and the median size of households was seven persons. After birth three children out of four are put to the maternal breast within 24 h. 97% of the children did not take a bottle. The age was the main reason (66.2%) to wean the child. Social animation means were songs, tales and proverbs given in traditional talks with the principal purpose to educate/instruct (48%), cheer up and instruct (26.7%), cheer up (19.4%). Two thirds of the children were physically punished for their laziness (23%), disturbence (15.3%), laziness and disturbence (16.3%) and stealing (13.8%).Toys consisted of traditional ones: hoops, rag or wooden dolls, cubes or boxes to pile, balls made out of rags, wooden boxes, wooden rings, shell bobbins, bells, calabashes, filled seed gourds, sand, rounded pebbles and balloons. Hide-and-seek or nursery games, rhythmic songs and lullabies were the main games. Early learning games (36.5%) and games of skill (26.9%) were the most used traditional means for children's education. Toys were installations or configurations on the ground, simplified tools allowing the professional gesture imitation, coordination or elaboration of concepts, and games were especially stimulating these latters (36.5 % ), addressing them (27% ) or stimulating and addressing them (15%). Accidents of the children were declared by 10.5% of the persons (including 48.1% falls, 15.4% cuts by bladed weapons, 5.8% road accidents and 5.8% pushes). To nurse injuries, 47.1% of the subjects attented to the injury at home, 33.3% went to a health facility and 19.6% presented the child to a traditional healer. The radio (43.3% households) and the traditional warning (36.3%) have been the main sources of information on health.