Effects on the cognitive development of children at risk and multidimensional poverty of two interventions with primary caregivers

Abstract

Millions of children under five-years-old do not reach their development potential due to differences in socioeconomic conditions and few interactions in the home. Research in developed countries shows that both parental developmental monitoring and sharing picture books are strategies that benefit children's cognitive and linguistic development. This study analyzes the effect of two training programs for primary caregivers of children between 2 and 5 years old: one in Dialogical book-sharing (DBS) and the other in the use of a developmental monitoring booklet (CARE). 63 families from Bogotá (Colombia) with their children participated (Avrg.= 43.4 months, SD = 6.6). The interventions consisted of specific training for caregivers for six weeks. The data collected corresponded to the pre (before the intervention) and post (at the end of the intervention) moments of delays (delays) and alerts using a monitoring tool (Haizea-Llevant Table). The results indicate that children of CARE and DBS intervention groups showed significantly lower levels of delays in the areas of socialization H (2) = 7.76, p = .02, and language and logical-mathematical reasoning, H (2) = 6.68, p = .03. In conclusion, both programs proved to be relatively short interventions with benefits in the development of the participants.