Joint Effects of Parenting and Nutrition Status on Child Development : Evidence from Rural Cambodia

Berkes, Jan ; Raikes, Abbie ; Bouguen, Adrien ; Filmer, Deon

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: NUTRITION;    PARENTING;    CHILD DEVELOPMENT;    EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT;    LIVING STANDARDS;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-8529
RP-ID  :  WPS8529

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Substantial work has demonstrated thatearly nutrition and home environments, including the degreeto which children receive cognitive stimulation andemotional support from parents, play a profound role ininfluencing early childhood development. Yet, less work hasdocumented the joint influences of parenting and nutritionstatus on child development among children in the preschoolyears living in low-income countries. Using panel data onparenting, nutrition status, and early developmentaloutcomes of about 7,000 Cambodian preschool-age children,this paper demonstrates that inequities in early developmentassociated with family wealth are evident at the start ofpreschool and increase over time. A significant share ofthese inequalities can be explained by differences inparental stimulation and early nutrition status. Bettereducated parents engage in better parental activities thatstimulate children's development. However, the positiveassociation between parental activities and child outcomesis particularly strong for non-stunted children, andparental activities can only explain about 8-14 percent ofthe cognitive gap between the lowest and highest wealthquintiles. The results highlight the need for integratedinterventions that address both parenting and earlynutrition, also suggesting that parenting interventions forthe most disadvantaged families should be carefully designedand evaluated to ensure maximum effectiveness.