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Background: Social-emotional development during the first three years of life is associated with later social-emotional development and cognitive development. In rural China, research has found large shares of children under age three are developmentally delayed, yet little is known about the paths of social-emotional development before age 3 or how developmental paths predict later social-emotional skills and cognitive skills.Aims: To investigate the paths of child social-emotional development during ages 0-3 and examine how different paths predict social-emotional development and cognitive development at preschool age.Methods: Three waves of longitudinal panel data from 1245 children in rural Western China was collected. Child social-emotional development was measured by the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional. Child cognitive development was measured by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and by the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Fourth Edition. Four paths of child social-emotional development were classified: "never" social-emotionally delayed; "persistently" social-emotionally delayed; "improving," or "deteriorating."Results: 331 (27%) were never social-emotionally delayed; 373 children (30%) were persistently social-emotionally delayed; 149 children (12%) experienced improving social-emotional development; and 392 children (31%) experienced deteriorating social-emotional development. Children who were never social-emotionally delayed or who were on an "improving" path had higher social-emotional development at preschool age (p < .01). Children who were persistently social-emotionally delayed (p < .5) and on a deteriorating path (p < .01) had lower social-emotional development at preschool age. Children on the persistently delay path also were shown to have lower levels of cognitive development at preschool age (p < .01).Conclusions: Different paths of child social-emotional development before age 3 are associated with different social-emotional and cognitive development at preschool age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Authoritative parenting style is significantly and positively associated with preschool-aged child cognitive development. • Authoritarian parenting style is significantly and negatively associated with preschool-aged child cognitive development. • Mothers, more educated, and higher SES caregivers are more likely to use authoritative parenting style. • Authoritative parenting style has greater benefits in terms of cognitive development for girls than boys. The correlation between parenting style and child cognitive development has been widely documented in Western societies. There has been far less research, however, in non-Western societies and none at all in rural China. This study aimed to investigate the association between parenting style and child cognitive development in rural China. Participants were 1272 preschool-aged children and their primary caregivers. Children were 49 to 65 months old (51% male), and all were ethnically Han. Primary caregivers reported their parenting style, and children were assessed on their cognitive skills. Two alternative approaches (two dimensions and four categories) were used to examine the correlation between parenting style and child cognitive development. The results show a positive correlation between an authoritative parenting style and child cognitive development and show a negative correlation between an authoritarian parenting style and development. When the mother is the primary caregiver, more educated, or from a wealthier family, she is more likely to use an authoritative parenting style and less likely to use an authoritarian one. In addition, the authoritative style has a stronger correlation with the cognitive developmental outcomes of girls than of boys. The findings encourage researchers to conduct future work on how to implement parenting training interventions that are able to ascertain whether parents in rural China can be taught to adopt an authoritative parenting style. Future research should also seek to identify whether an authoritative parenting style produces (in a causal manner) any significant long-term benefits to the cognitive development of children in rural China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We use five-wave panel datasets to examine the effects of maternal migration on children's cognition. • The cognition developments were measured by BSID-I and WPPSI-VI. • Maternal migration has negative effects on the cognition of preschool-aged children. • Possible mechanisms include a generational shift in parenting and feeding practices. Preschool-aged children account for over 38 per cent of those left behind. Previous research suggests that maternal migration during early childhood may create a greater negative impact, however, the literature on the effect of maternal migration on cognitive development of preschool aged children is rare. This study uses a unique panel dataset following children from infancy to 63 months and their caregivers to estimate the causal effects of maternal migration on the critical cognitive development of children left behind. We find that maternal migration increases the probability of cognitive delay by six percentage points. Possible mechanisms include a generational shift in parenting and feeding practices leading to reduced engagement in stimulating activities and dietary diversity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the causal effects of maternal migration on cognition during the first six years of life in rural China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]