IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i8p2792-d347170.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Parenting Knowledge, Parental Investments, and Early Childhood Development in Rural Households in Western China

Author

Listed:
  • Jingdong Zhong

    (School of Economics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

  • Yang He

    (China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

  • Jingjing Gao

    (China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

  • Tianyi Wang

    (China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

  • Renfu Luo

    (China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Jingdong Zhong & Yang He & Jingjing Gao & Tianyi Wang & Renfu Luo, 2020. "Parenting Knowledge, Parental Investments, and Early Childhood Development in Rural Households in Western China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-11, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:8:p:2792-:d:347170
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/8/2792/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/8/2792/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mario Fiorini & Michael P. Keane, 2014. "How the Allocation of Children's Time Affects Cognitive and Noncognitive Development," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(4), pages 787-836.
    2. James Heckman & Flavio Cunha, 2007. "The Technology of Skill Formation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(2), pages 31-47, May.
    3. Francesconi, Marco & Heckman, James J., 2016. "Symposium on Child Development and Parental Investment: Introduction," IZA Discussion Papers 9977, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. James J. Heckman & Stefano Mosso, 2014. "The Economics of Human Development and Social Mobility," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 689-733, August.
    5. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman & Susanne M. Schennach, 2010. "Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(3), pages 883-931, May.
    6. Emilia Del Bono & Marco Francesconi & Yvonne Kelly & Amanda Sacker, 2016. "Early Maternal Time Investment and Early Child Outcomes," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(596), pages 96-135, October.
    7. Mark Huggett & Gustavo Ventura & Amir Yaron, 2011. "Sources of Lifetime Inequality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(7), pages 2923-2954, December.
    8. James Heckman & Rodrigo Pinto & Peter Savelyev, 2013. "Understanding the Mechanisms through Which an Influential Early Childhood Program Boosted Adult Outcomes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2052-2086, October.
    9. Marco Francesconi & James J. Heckman, 2016. "Child Development and Parental Investment: Introduction," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(596), pages 1-27, October.
    10. James J. Heckman, 2007. "The Economics, Technology and Neuroscience of Human Capability Formation," NBER Working Papers 13195, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Marco Francesconi & James J. Heckman, 2016. "Child Development and Parental Investment: Introduction," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(596), pages 1-27, October.
    12. Wang, Lei & Liang, Wilson & Zhang, Siqi & Jonsson, Laura & Li, Mengjie & Yu, Cordelia & Sun, Yonglei & Ma, Qingrui & Bai, Yu & Abbey, Cody & Luo, Renfu & Yue, Ai & Rozelle, Scott, 2019. "Are infant/toddler developmental delays a problem across rural China?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 458-469.
    13. Emilia Del Bono & Marco Francesconi & Yvonne Kelly & Amanda Sacker, 2016. "Early Maternal Time Investment and Early Child Outcomes," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(596), pages 96-135, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tayyeba Kiran & Rabia Sattar & Mina Husain & Sadia Shah & Rakhshi Memon & Nasim Chaudhry, 2023. "Learning Through Play (LTP) Parenting Program: Capacity Building of Traditional Birth Attendants in Pakistan," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    2. Marina Sayuri Yakuwa & Letícia Pancieri & Sarah Neill & Débora Falleiros de Mello, 2022. "Mothers’ Understanding of Brain Development in Early Childhood: A Qualitative Study in Brazil," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, May.
    3. Siqi Zhang & Lei Wang & Yue Xian & Yu Bai, 2020. "Mental Health Issues among Caregivers of Young Children in Rural China: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Links to Child Developmental Outcomes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-19, December.
    4. Zhong, Jingdong & Kuhn, Lena & Wang, Tianyi & Liu, Chengfang & Luo, Renfu, 2020. "The interrelationships between parental migration, home environment, and early child development in rural China: A cross-sectional study," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 17(11).
    5. Hannah Johnstone & Yi Yang & Hao Xue & Scott Rozelle, 2021. "Infant Cognitive Development and Stimulating Parenting Practices in Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-16, May.
    6. Bai, Yu & Emmers, Dorien & Li, Ying & Tang, Lei, 2022. "Parental locus of control and early childhood development: Evidence on parent and grandparent caregivers in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Pilar Ridao & Isabel López-Verdugo & Carmen Reina-Flores, 2021. "Parental Beliefs about Childhood and Adolescence from a Longitudinal Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-17, February.
    8. Jingdong Zhong & Renfu Luo, 2020. "Interrelationships of Parenting Information, Family Care, and Child Development: A Cross-Sectional Study in Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-15, August.
    9. Ke Cui & Timothy Sim & Ting Xu, 2020. "Psychosocial Well-Being of School-Aged Children Born to Bereaved ( Shidu ) Families: Associations with Mothers’ Quality of Life and Involvement Behaviors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-13, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhong, Jingdong & Gao, Jingjing & Wang, Tianyi & He, Yang & Liu, Chengfang & Luo, Renfu, 2020. "Interrelationships of parental belief, parental investments, and child development: A cross-sectional study in rural China," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    2. Zhong, Jingdong & Kuhn, Lena & Wang, Tianyi & Liu, Chengfang & Luo, Renfu, 2020. "The interrelationships between parental migration, home environment, and early child development in rural China: A cross-sectional study," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 17(11).
    3. Jingdong Zhong & Renfu Luo, 2020. "Interrelationships of Parenting Information, Family Care, and Child Development: A Cross-Sectional Study in Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-15, August.
    4. Jingdong Zhong & Jingjing Gao & Chengfang Liu & Jie Huang & Renfu Luo, 2019. "Quantity–Quality Trade-Off and Early Childhood Development in Rural Family: Evidence from China’s Guizhou Province," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-29, April.
    5. Jingdong Zhong & Yang He & Yuting Chen & Renfu Luo, 2020. "Relationships between Parenting Skills and Early Childhood Development in Rural Households in Western China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-10, February.
    6. Zhong, Jingdong & Wang, Tianyi & He, Yang & Gao, Jingjing & Liu, Chengfang & Lai, Fang & Zhang, Liuxiu & Luo, Renfu, 2021. "Interrelationships of caregiver mental health, parenting practices, and child development in rural China," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    7. Kiessling, Lukas, 2021. "How do parents perceive the returns to parenting styles and neighborhoods?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    8. Akgündüz, Yusuf Emre & Akyol, Pelin & Aydemir, Abdurrahman B. & Demirci, Murat & Kirdar, Murat Güray, 2023. "Maternal Education and Early Child Development: The Roles of Parental Support for Learning, Learning Materials, and Father Characteristics," IZA Discussion Papers 16328, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Gahramanov, Emin & Hasanov, Rashad & Tang, Xueli, 2020. "Parental involvement and Children's human capital: A tax-subsidy experiment," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 16-29.
    10. Susanne Kuger & Jan Marcus & C. Katharina Spiess, 2017. "Does Quality of Early Childhood Education and Care Affect the Home Learning Environment of Children?," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1687, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    11. Avdic, Daniel & Karimi, Arizo & Sjögren, Anna & Sundberg, Elin, 2023. "Paternity leave and child outcomes," Working Paper Series 2023:25, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    12. Marion Davin & Emmanuelle Lavaine, 2021. "The role of health at birth and parental investment in early child development: evidence from the French ELFE cohort," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(8), pages 1217-1237, November.
    13. Wang, Lei & Qian, Yiwei & Warrinnier, Nele & Attanasio, Orazio & Rozelle, Scott & Sylvia, Sean, 2023. "Parental investment, school choice, and the persistent benefits of an early childhood intervention," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    14. Xiong, Xianfang & Deng, Lanfang & Li, Hongyi, 2020. "Is winning at the start important: Early childhood family cognitive stimulation and child development," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    15. Richard Gearhart & Lyudmyla Sonchak-Ardan & Raphael Thibault, 2023. "The impact of minimum wage on parental time allocation to children: evidence from the American Time Use Survey," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 1019-1042, September.
    16. Borga, Liyousew G. & Münich, Daniel & Kukla, Lubomir, 2021. "The socioeconomic gradient in child health and noncognitive skills: Evidence from the Czech Republic," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    17. Arenas-Arroyo, Esther & Schmidpeter, Bernhard, 2022. "Spillover effects of immigration policies on children's human capital," Ruhr Economic Papers 974, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    18. Sylvia, Sean & Luo, Renfu & Zhong, Jingdong & Dill, Sarah-Eve & Medina, Alexis & Rozelle, Scott, 2022. "Passive versus active service delivery: Comparing the effects of two parenting interventions on early cognitive development in rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    19. Marlon R. Tracey & Chanita C. Holmes & Marvin G. Powell, 2024. "Parental limit-setting decisions and adolescent subject grades," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 143-171, March.
    20. Greta Morando & Lucinda Platt, 2022. "The Impact of Centre‐based Childcare on Non‐cognitive Skills of Young Children," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(356), pages 908-946, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:8:p:2792-:d:347170. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.