Child development in Latin America has been unequal

• Inequality in results appeared as early as 24 months, the age of PRIDI’s youngest participants, and increased with age.
• There was variation in the inequality. For example, correlations of the results of the Engle scale with the socio-economic characteristics of the home and maternal education were stronger for cognition and language and communication than for motor development.

The nurturing environment played a key role

The environment within which children developed – the nurturing environment – was important in all domains of child development measured by the Engle scale, although stronger associations appeared for cognition, language and communication, and socio-emotional development.

• Gaps between the development of children in the top and low extremes in these factors mattered.
• By 59 months, the development of a poor and under-nurtured child would lag by as much as 18 months behind her wealthier and more nurtured peers.
  • This child would not be able to recognize basic shapes like triangles or squares, count to 20, or understand temporal sequences.
  • She would also have gaps in her basic executive functioning and socio-emotional skills, including empathy and autonomy.
  • She would not likely be ready for school and may not have success once there.
• Notably, however, if this same child, in the same poor household, were to have benefited from a nurturing environment, her level of development would have risen and would have started to approach levels found in children in wealthier but less nurturing households.
• The nurturing environment thus appeared to mitigate the negative association lower levels of wealth had with the domains of development measured by the Engle scale.