Role of parent’s wealth in child cognitive development.

Abstract

Early childhood cognitive development is the primary determinant of an adult's success in various aspects of life. Early childhood development is a multidimensional process involving the systematic development of motor, cognitive, language, socio-emotional, and regulatory skills. These systematic progressions across the initial years of a child build the underpinning of later life and establish a path for health, learning, and welfare. In this respect, the present study examined the impact of parental wealth and other determinants on the child's cognitive development. With the help of a micro dataset of MICS, the Negative Binomial Regression Model was employed for the analysis. The evidence presented in this study concludes that a child is less cognitively developed when their parents are poor and have a low or no level of education. In addition, the education of urban children positively affects their cognitive development. Therefore, to have a more mentally developed skilled workforce for the future, we would have to spend more on education and poverty reduction programs.