Search

This paper studied the interrelationships between parenting information, family care, and early childhood development (ECD) outcomes. A total of 1787 sample households in rural China were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. A demographic questionnaire, a parenting information questionnaire, the Family Care Indicators (FCIs), and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development version III (BSID-III) were used to measure demographic characteristics, parenting information that the caregiver received, family care, and early development outcomes of the child, respectively. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was then used to estimate the interrelationships. The results showed that family care significantly mediated between parenting information and ECD outcomes. Through family care, one standard deviation (SD) increase in the parenting information was associated with the increase in the child's four development outcomes (cognition, language, motor, and social-emotion) by 3%, 4%, 4%, and 5% of one SD, respectively. Different measurements of parenting information and different components of family care played different roles in the interrelationships. The key findings of this study are informative for providing early child development services in rural China.

This paper investigates the relationships between caregivers' parenting knowledge and early childhood development, based on a survey conducted in 1715 rural households in 100 villages located in an undeveloped rural area of western China. The results find that, first, caregivers' parenting knowledge is positively and significantly associated with children's development outcomes, including cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional development; second, caregivers' parental investments significantly mediate the link between parenting knowledge and early childhood development; third, in contrast with other parental investments, play materials (in terms of variety and quantity) and play activities in the households are the strongest mediators. Our findings might be informative for policy makers to design policies targeted to foster human capital formation in rural China.

This paper empirically investigates the relationships between caregivers' parenting skills and early cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional development of children aged 6-24 months. The study is based on data from a survey conducted in 100 villages in a typical poor rural area in western China. A total of 1715 households were enrolled in the study. In the study, Parent and Family Adjustment Scales (PAFAS), Bayley Scales of Infant Development version III (BSID-III), and a socioeconomic questionnaire were used to measure caregiver's parenting skills, child's development outcomes, and socioeconomic characteristics in sample households, respectively. Multivariate regression was used to estimate the relationship between a caregiver's parenting skills and the child's development outcomes. The results show that, first, parenting skills are positively and significantly associated with children's cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional development, and the link between parenting skills and social-emotional development is the strongest; second, the correlation between parenting skills and development outcomes varies across socioeconomic characteristics and parenting skill dimensions. The results provide evidence for the relationship between parenting skills and early childhood development in rural households in western China. Our findings also suggest that interventions aimed at improving caregivers' parenting skills during the early stages are necessary for human capital development in rural China.