Key Messages
- Child development is the period from conception (pregnancy) to primary school entry age (0-8 years).
- Parenting can be understood as interactions, behaviours, emotions, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and practices associated with the provision of nurturing care.
- The term ‘parenting’ or ‘parent’ is not limited to biological parents, but extends to any guardian or caregiver providing consistent care to the child. Those caregivers include fathers, mothers, siblings, grandparents and other relatives, as well as child care providers who play a significant role in caring for infants and young children.
- In some ways, parents determine the life course of a child, as parenting is twice as predictive of a child’s success in early learning as a family’s socioeconomic status.
- When parents interact with children, it is not for their children to achieve one outcome but to develop. Programmes should adapt to this reality of developmental complexity to support nurturing care holistically.