BACKGROUND: In March 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), generating stark economic and social repercussions that directly or indirectly affected families' wellbeing and health status. AIMS: This review aims at mapping the existing evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal mental health, early childhood development, and parental practices, worldwide, to identify evidence gaps and better inform future delivery of care and health policy measures. METHODS: Following the protocol defined by PRISMA-ScR, this scoping review has searched for relevant studies published between January 2020 and June 2021, selecting evidence sources based on pre-established criteria. From a total of 2,308 articles, data were extracted from 537 publications from 35 countries on all three health domains. RESULTS: The combined stressors brought forth by the pandemic have exerted a heavy burden on the mental health of mothers and the development of young children, partly mediated by its impact on parental practices. CONCLUSIONS: Despite remaining gaps, we have identified sufficient evidence pointing to an urgent need for more concerted global research efforts and rapid policy responses to timely address severe and pervasive negative impacts to the mental health of mothers and children at a key developmental stage.
Ana Luiza Penna, Camila Machado de Aquino, Maria Suelly Nogueira Pinheiro et al.
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.
Background: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), parents need to be informed about Early Childhood Development (ECD). Different methods of parents’ education include group-based, face-to-face, book, booklet, web-based, technology-based, and mobile learning using laptops, tablets, and cell phones. Paying attention to caregivers' attitudes is the first step to their education. The objectives of this study were to determine parental education requirements and the best approach towards promoting caregivers` knowledge about ECD, from the perspective of the Iranian main child caregivers. Materials and Methods: A qualitative approach with directional content analysis method was used. Participants were selected through purposive sampling. Thirty-one child-caregivers participated in 5 individual interviews and 5 focus group discussions (FGDs). Participants were parents and grandparents that had less than the 36-month child (grandchild), and kindergarten staffs. Four criteria namely: validity, transferability, reliability and verifiability were used to validate data. Results: According to the perspective of participants, two main themes were requirements for parent education (educators, educational content, time, place), and approach to educate child caregivers (mobile learning, group and face-to-face education, electronic learning, media, physical resources), totally 98 sub-themes. Finally the best approach to educate child caregivers was a multi-model approach includes group or face-to-face education with mobile learning. Conclusion: Participants suggested a multi-model approach based on traditional and modern technological methods, especially mobile learning (smartphone). They believed that the educational approach should be flexible and selectable, so caregivers can choose an appropriate individual method.
Firoozeh Sajedi, Elham Habibi, Soheila Shahshahani et al.
Abstract Objective This study investigates the longitudinal association between paternity leave‐taking and multiple domains of young children's developmental outcomes and identifies the underlying mediating mechanisms through fathers' involvement, father–child closeness, and family dynamics. Background Some Asian societies have recently initiated parental or paternity leave policies to encourage fathers' participation in childcare and raise fertility rates. However, little is known about whether and how this policy influences early childhood development in a mid‐to‐long‐term period from preschool to early primary school years. Methods Using two waves of data from the Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study (SG‐LEADS), we conduct structural equation modeling to examine both the direct and indirect effects of paternity leave‐taking on children's academic and behavioral outcomes when they are 3–8 years old. Propensity score matching is adopted in sensitivity analyses, presenting that the effect of paternity leave is not due to selection. Results Taking 2 weeks or more of paternity leave is associated with fathers' increased involvement in childcare activities, strengthened father–child closeness, and enhanced family dynamics. Taking paternity leave has both direct and indirect effects on promoting children's academic achievements, whereas much of its impact on reducing children's behavior problems is through an indirect effect of improving family dynamics. Conclusion Relatively short paternity leave (2 weeks) could have cumulative effects on children's development from early to middle childhood, mainly through cohesive father–child and parental relationships. The study findings have policy implications for enhancing work–family reconciliation and promoting gender equality in society, especially in the Asian context.
Julien Vincelot*aa The Bernard van Leer Foundation, The Hague, The NetherlandsJulien Vincelot As Urban95 Coordinator, Julien contributes to the development of Urban95 strategy and manages the Urban95 Starter Kit, as well as global Urban95 partnerships and projects related to public space and mobility. Julien holds a dual MSc in Urban Policy and Planning from the London School of Economics and SciencesPo Paris. He has academic and/or professional experience in India, China, France, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.CONTACT Julien Vincelot Julien.Vincelot@bvleerf.nl The Bernard van Leer Foundation, The Hague, The NetherlandsRESEARCH FOR CITY PRACTISEDecades of research make clear: children’s early experiences in life have lasting effects on their odds of good health and success in school, work and life. It is during early childhood that the foundational architecture of the brain is laid, and when one’s immediate surroundings can determine how the brain develops. The built environment impacts physical, cognitive, socio-emotional development, as well as family well-being, on which young children rely so much. This article highlights selected initiatives connecting urban planning and design to healthy child development that the Bernard van Leer Foundation has supported through its Urban95 initiative. This aims to demonstrate how there is no single guideline for a child-friendly city, but rather a set of principles and ideas, through the example of some partner cities such as Tel Aviv, Istanbul, Bhubaneswar and Bogotá.
Child development is a fundamental field of study that encompasses interrelated dimensions such as physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and spiritual growth. The aim of this study was to analyze research trends on child development between 2020 and 2025, with emphasis on the cognitive, affective, social, physical, and spiritual dimensions. A bibliometric and scientific mapping approach was used, with Scopus as the primary data source. Specific keyword-based search criteria were applied, and tools such as VOSviewer were used to identify patterns of co-occurrence, co-citation, and scientific production networks. A total of 16,013 articles were analyzed after filtering by language, document type, and publication period. The results revealed a progressive decline in scientific output related to child development, particularly in the spiritual dimension, which showed significantly lower representation compared to the others. Thematic analysis identified relevant clusters in each dimension, as well as authors and countries with the highest scientific connectivity. This study not only highlights prevailing lines of research but also proposes an agenda for future exploration, with special emphasis on interdisciplinary and underrepresented areas such as spiritual development. Overall, the study provides an updated and relevant perspective to guide new research and public policies focused on early childhood.
JENIFFER XIMENA VEGA FAJARDO , ANDREA DEL PILAR BERNAL LÓPEZ , PAULA ANDREA SAAVEDRA PARRA SONIA LUCÍA VARGAS AMÉZQUITA , ERIKA YAMILA MELO ROMERO
BACKGROUND: Early childhood development (ECD) lays the foundation for lifelong health, academic success and social well-being, yet over 250 million children in low- and middle-income countries are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential. Traditional measures fail to fully capture the risks associated with a child's development outcomes. Artificial intelligence techniques, particularly machine learning (ML), offer an innovative approach by analysing complex datasets to detect subtle developmental patterns. OBJECTIVE: To map the existing literature on the use of ML in ECD research, including its geographical distribution, to identify research gaps and inform future directions. The review focuses on applied ML techniques, data types, feature sets, outcomes, data splitting and validation strategies, model performance, model explainability, key themes, clinical relevance and reported limitations. DESIGN: DATA SOURCES: A systematic search was conducted on 16 June 2024 across PubMed, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore and PsycINFO, supplemented by grey literature (OpenGrey) and reference hand-searching. No publication date limits were applied. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Included studies applied ML or its variants (eg, deep learning (DL), natural language processing) to developmental outcomes in children aged 0-8 years. Studies were in English and addressed cognitive, language, motor or social-emotional development. Excluded were studies focusing on robotics; neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and communication disorders; disease or medical conditions; and review articles. DATA EXTRACTION AND CHARTING: Three reviewers independently extracted data using a structured MS Excel template, covering study ML techniques, data types, feature sets, outcomes, outcome measures, data splitting and validation strategies, model performance, model explainability, key themes, clinical relevance and limitations. A narrative synthesis was conducted, supported by descriptive statistics and visualisations. RESULTS: Of the 759 articles retrieved, 27 met the inclusion criteria. Most studies (78%) originated from high-income countries, with none from sub-Saharan Africa. Supervised ML classifiers (40.7%) and DL techniques (22.2%) were the most used approaches. Cognitive development was the most frequently targeted outcome (33.3%), often measured using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III (33.3%). Data types varied, with image, video and sensor-based data being most prevalent. Key predictive features were grouped into six categories: brain features; anthropometric and clinical/biological markers; socio-demographic and environmental factors; medical history and nutritional indicators; linguistic and expressive features; and motor indicators. Most studies (74.1%) focused solely on prediction, with the majority conducting predictions at age 2 years and above. Only 41% of studies employed explainability methods, and validation strategies varied widely. Few studies (7.4%) conducted external validation, and only one had progressed to a clinical trial. Common limitations included small sample sizes, lack of external validation and imbalanced datasets. CONCLUSION: There is growing interest in using ML for ECD research, but current research lacks geographical diversity, external validation, explainability and practical implementation. Future work should focus on developing inclusive, interpretable and externally validated models that are integrated into real-world implementation.
Faith Neema Benson, Daisy Chelangat, Willie Brink et al.
At present, creating environment for Early Childhood Development (ECD) has been given a great emphasis in Nepal’s educational context. However, a number of challenges are often narrated by the school leaders and teachers in creating environment to facilitate development of the children. Hence, this paper aims at exploring what experiences the preschools have assembled in course of creating environment for ECD. The paper is based on narrative inquiry where a teacher and two school leaders from three different institutional preschools of Kathmandu Valley were selected purposively as research participants for in-depth interview. Then, this study explored that school leaders and teacher were having a tough time for creating environment expected to support ECD though they narrated their awareness about the discourse. These challenges were narrated to have been occurred basically because of infrastructural constraints and divergent attitude of parents regarding how their children had to be learning at school. Moreover, lack of competent human resource to induce atmosphere for development of children was also recounted. Hence, the study implies collaborative environment between school leaders, teachers and parents to be created by school leaders to encourage teachers to adopt instructional strategies for strengthening atmosphere of ECD.
This research intends to examine the problematics and its solutions in early childhood developmental (AUD) at TK Aisyiyah jampang kulon. This study uses a qualitative approach with type of case study. The collecting data uses observation, interview and documentation. While data analysis uses data reduction, data presentation and verification. The results of research that early childhood education is primal period and only comes one time and can’t be repeated. Teachers and parents are obliged to behold physical development of the child, both teachers and parents efforts to stimulate for children. Therefore, as parents must be understand growing and developmental cognitive and psychomotor of their children, and also should understand what children need according to their age, without having forces or violence.
BACKGROUND: Early childhood development (ECD) sets the foundation for healthy and successful lives with important ramifications for education, labour market outcomes and other domains of well-being. Even though a large number of interventions that promote ECD have been implemented and evaluated globally, there is currently no standardised framework that allows a comparison of the relative cost-effectiveness of these interventions. METHODS: We first reviewed the existing literature to document the main approaches that have been used to assess the relative effectiveness of interventions that promote ECD, including early parenting and at-home psychosocial stimulation interventions. We then present an economic evaluation framework that builds on these reviewed approaches and focuses on the immediate impact of interventions on motor, cognitive, language and socioemotional skills. Last, we apply our framework to compute the relative cost-effectiveness of interventions for which recent effectiveness and costing data were published. For this last part, we relied on a recently published review to obtain effect sizes documented in a consistent manner across interventions. FINDINGS: Our framework enables direct value-for-money comparison of interventions across settings. Cost-effectiveness estimates, expressed in $ per units of improvement in ECD outcomes, vary greatly across interventions. Given that estimated costs vary by orders of magnitude across interventions while impacts are relatively similar, cost-effectiveness rankings are dominated by implementation costs and the interventions with higher value for money are generally those with a lower implementation cost (eg, psychosocial interventions involving limited staff). CONCLUSIONS: With increasing attention and investment into ECD programmes, consistent assessments of the relative cost-effectiveness of available interventions are urgently needed. This paper presents a unified analytical framework to address this need and highlights the rather remarkable range in both costs and cost-effectiveness across currently available intervention strategies.
Stéphane Verguet, Sarah Bolongaita, Anthony Morgan et al.
