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Using Cholesky Decomposition to Explore Individual Differences in Longitudinal Relations between Reading Skills
Published on: September 17, 2019
Parenting Skills and Early Childhood Development: Production Function Estimates from Longitudinal Data.
Jade Marcus Jenkins1, Sudhanshu Handa2
1School of Education, University of California, Irvine, 3200 Education, Irvine, CA 92697-5500.
Early parent-child interactions, like reading and singing, significantly boost kindergarten reading skills. These parenting practices, starting at nine months, are crucial for cognitive development and can be taught.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Early Childhood Education
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Cognitive skills in early childhood are crucial for later academic success.
- Understanding the key inputs in the early childhood production function is vital for effective interventions.
- Parenting practices represent a potentially modifiable input influencing child development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the early childhood production function and identify key inputs for cognitive skill development.
- To measure the impact of parent-child interaction on cognitive outcomes.
- To assess the policy relevance of identified inputs, particularly parenting skills.
Main Methods:
- Estimation of alternative specifications of the early childhood production function (birth to kindergarten).
- Development and application of a new input measure: parent-child interaction.
- Analysis of the effects of specific activities (reading, singing) and interaction quality.
Main Results:
- Parent-child interaction is identified as a significant input for child development.
- Early exposure (9 months) to reading books and singing songs positively impacts reading skills.
- Sensitive and engaging parent-child interactions show a significant effect on later reading ability.
Conclusions:
- Parenting skills, including reading, singing, and sensitive interaction, are critical inputs for cognitive development.
- These parenting inputs are amenable to policy interventions, as parenting skills can be taught.
- Interventions targeting early parent-child interaction can effectively enhance children's reading skills.

