Early childhood development, its determinants and discipline in Mexican childhood: Ensanut 2022

Abstract

Objective. To know the prevalence of early childhood development (ECD), its determinants, and exposure to violent discipline methods among Mexican children in 2022. Materials and methods. We estimated the ECD, its determinants, and exposure to violent discipline methods indicators following the methodology of Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS). We calculated the prevalence for each indicator and disaggregated it by children and sociodemographic characteristics. Results. We found that 19.3% of children aged 24 to 59 months were not developmentally on track. There exists a low attendance to early learning programs (7.1%) and preschool (62.4%). Among children younger than five years old 41.7% did not have access to children’s books and 8.1% had inadequate care. Additionally, 55.5% of children aged 1 to 14 years old were exposed to violent discipline methods. Conclusion. The results allow us to know children’s situation and guide the public policy aimed to this population.