Parenting, environment, and early child development in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This chapter describes the contemporary situation of children in sub-Saharan Africa with successive foci on child growth, the home environment, parenting, and discipline using data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). The MICS is a nationally representative, internationally comparable household survey implemented to examine protective and risk factors of child development in developing countries. We address how 14 developing and under-researched countries in sub-Saharan Africa vary with respect to these central indicators of children’s experiences and development. The chapter concludes with some policy implications from these findings.