In
some areas of rural Africa, long-standing cultural traditions and beliefs may
discourage parents from verbally engaging with their young children. This
study assessed the effectiveness of a parenting program designed to encourage
verbal engagement between caregivers and infants in Wolof-speaking villages
in rural Senegal. Caregivers (n = 443) and their 4- to 31-month-old children
were observed at baseline in 2013 and 1 year later at follow-up. Results
showed that caregivers in program villages nearly doubled the amount of
child-directed speech during a play session compared to baseline, whereas
caregivers in matched comparison villages showed no change. After 1 year,
children in program villages produced more utterances, and showed greater
improvement in vocabulary and other language outcomes compared to children in
comparison villages.
