Abstract
This study examines the effect of attending 10 parenting sessions by slum-dwelling teenage mothers on developmental outcomes of their children in Nairobi, Kenya. Slum-dwelling teenage mothers of 547 children responded to Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQs) bi-monthly, while attending parenting skills sessions in this longitudinal study. Mothers of 502 of the children completed 10 sessions. A comparison group of 131 teenage mothers living in similar settings responded to ASQs at end-line and the results obtained compared among the three groups using binary logistics regression models. The intervention end-line group had the highest average score in each of the five ECD domains, and the lowest proportion of children delayed in each of the domains. Compared to the intervention end-line group, the comparison group was significantly more likely to be delayed (R.R 1.319 (95% C.I 1.139-1.539), p=0.0002). Similar results were obtained even after adjusting for social-demographic variables that differed between them. The results show that providing the parenting sessions to slum-dwelling teenage mothers is associated with improved developmental outcomes for their children.
We recommend that policy makers and program developers targeting this sub-population consider the provision of parenting skills; opportunities for going back to school, and incorporate economic empowerment interventions.
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