Abstract
Early childhood development (ECD) occurs during a period of life that is crucial for later adaptation. A well-known risk factor for negative developmental outcomes is poverty, a daily life setting for more than 40% of children and their families in Latin America. Utilizing a developmental science framework, this chapter analyzes the association of parenting practices and ECD outcomes in contexts of poverty. In agreement with Latin America and international data, we document emerging differences in parenting practices at around the age of 18 months. The most influential parenting practices we found included fostering parental interchanges with the child, behaviors promoting social experiences, and the provision of an organized household. These, among other findings, expand the existing research in Latin America dealing with the importance of identifying the quality of parental practices in contexts of adversity. Thus, our study confirms the need to support those with low stimulation trajectories and strengthen the resources of those with high trajectories. Reflections on the contributions, opportunities, and challenges in our region for ECD interventions are included. As a conclusion, we discuss the implications, with the objective of guiding public policies and practices for the design of effective interventions with economically disadvantaged families. After identifying the limitations of the study, we conclude by stating that it is important to identify the variability in the caregiving environment in poor families in order to provide guidance-based intervention directed at the parents who need it the most, optimally before the targeted child reaches 18 months of age.
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Márquez-Caraveo, M.E., Zanabria-Salcedo, M., Moreno-Macías, H., Murata, C., Pérez-Barrón, V., Martínez-Ponce, N. (2021). The Effects of Parenting Practices on Early Childhood Development in a Context of Poverty in Mexico City. In: Barcelata Eguiarte, B.E., Suárez Brito, P. (eds) Child and Adolescent Development in Risky Adverse Contexts. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83700-6_2
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