Scaling Early Childhood Development – what to read this month | June 2026

Scaling Early Childhood Development – what to read this month is curated by Bet Caeyers (Lead Editor, Chr. Michelsen Institute), Meghan Taylor (Editor, Oxford Policy Management), and Daniel Munday (Editor, Oxford Policy Management).

First up, Dupas et al. provide rare evidence that correcting parents’ misperceptions about the benefits of talking to infants can improve early language development through an ultra-low-cost intervention. Among 1,408 pregnant women and mothers of young infants in Ghana’s Northern Region, a three-minute informational video and wall calendar strengthened mothers’ beliefs about talking to infants and improved reported parent–infant interactions and infant communication but had no significant effects on objective measures of parent–child interactions or child development. A follow-up experiment found much larger immediate increases in mothers’ speech, suggesting that the main challenge is sustaining the behaviour rather than changing beliefs. The findings suggest that integrating simple behaviour-change messages into routine health services could provide a highly scalable approach to promoting early language development, particularly if complemented by strategies that support habit formation.

Next, Brentani et al. report that adapting the Reach Up curriculum to start during pregnancy can improve both child development and neonatal survival when delivered at scale through a government programme. Among vulnerable families in Boa Vista, Brazil, fortnightly home visits significantly improved child development and reduced neonatal mortality, while centre-based group meetings had no impact. Low attendance, driven by transport costs and childcare responsibilities, likely explains the absence of impacts. The authors also argue that the programme’s structured curriculum, intensive training, and close supervision distinguish it from previous large-scale parenting programmes in Brazil. The findings suggest that evidence-based parenting programmes can be successfully adapted for government delivery, but that reaching vulnerable families may require home visiting rather than centre-based services.

Turning from parenting to nutrition, Wegmüller et al. provide evidence that integrating nutrition and WASH interventions into an existing agricultural programme can improve child growth. Among 1,199 pregnant women in Western Kenya, the integrated package increased children’s length-for-age and reduced stunting at 24 months, while also improving iron and vitamin A status. The intervention also reduced diarrhoea, fever and lower respiratory tract infections during infancy, although these differences disappeared by 24 months, likely because COVID-19 hygiene measures affected both groups. The findings suggest that existing agricultural programmes can provide an effective platform for delivering integrated nutrition interventions at scale, particularly when support begins during pregnancy.

Also on nutrition, Gilligan et al. provide strong evidence that nutrition behaviour change is most effective when combined with financial support. Evaluating a nutrition-sensitive graduation model embedded within Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme, the authors found that nutrition counselling alone improved caregivers’ knowledge but did not improve feeding practices or child growth. By contrast, combining nutrition counselling with livelihood support and maternal cash transfers improved child dietary diversity and reduced stunting by around seven percentage points among the poorest households. The programme also improved early childhood development and household livelihoods, with every dollar invested generating around two dollars in future consumption gains. The findings highlight the potential of integrating nutrition interventions with social protection to improve child development at scale.

Turning to early childhood education, Hojman et al. provide rare evidence that investments to improve childcare quality can also prevent centre closures in low-resource settings. A randomised controlled trial of Bolivia’s Grow Well to Live Well programme found that strengthening existing childcare centres through improvements to staff support, infrastructure and learning resources reduced closure rates from nearly 50% to 10% by 2018, with effects persisting after the COVID-19 pandemic. The programme also substantially improved service quality, with treated centres scoring 1.23 standard deviations higher on the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS). Mediation analysis suggests that investments in staff training and support, rather than infrastructure alone, drove these gains. The findings highlight the importance of strengthening human capacity alongside physical resources to improve the quality and sustainability of early childhood education services at scale.

On caregiver wellbeing, Redinger et al. report encouraging findings from a six-country evaluation of UNICEF’s Caring for the Caregiver package, which integrates counselling and behaviour change into routine home visits by frontline workers. After 3–6 months, caregivers reported higher self-efficacy and social support, alongside lower depression, anxiety and parenting stress, with larger improvements among those receiving a higher intervention dose. Caregivers also reported better coping strategies and parent–child relationships. Although the study lacked a control group and longer-term follow-up, the findings suggest that integrating caregiver mental health support into existing home-visiting services is a promising approach that warrants more rigorous evaluation.

Building on these findings, Ahun and Tomiyoshi argue that while the Caring for the Caregiver package shows promise for integrating caregiver mental health support into routine government services across diverse low- and middle-income country (LMIC) settings, important challenges remain. They note that the programme’s flexibility and delivery through existing frontline workers make it more scalable than many previous interventions. However, they caution that improving caregivers’ coping skills alone is unlikely to address the structural drivers of poor mental health and argue that future implementation should place greater emphasis on equity and reaching the most vulnerable families.

Finally, Sukumaran et al. offer a practical reflection on the promise and pitfalls of health policy dashboards, drawing on their experience in Ghana, India and South Africa through the Children in All Policies 2030 initiative. While dashboards are increasingly promoted for evidence-informed policymaking, the authors argue they are often developed without sufficient engagement with end users or integration into decision-making processes. Weak data systems, including outdated data, poor quality and limited interoperability, further constrain their development. At the same time, dashboards proved valuable for COVID-19 surveillance, public accountability and sub-national planning. The authors recommend building dashboards only where needed, prioritising mobile access and routinely updated indicators, and embedding them within broader investments in data systems rather than treating them as standalone technological solutions.