A quantification of child care and infant-caregiver interaction in a West-African village

Abstract We have investigated infant-caregiver interactions in an isolated African subsistence farming community where women perform arduous agricultural tasks in addition to their normal domestic duties which include child care. 49 babies aged 3–18 months were studied on one or two occasions. Detailed observations were made of the level of care and of positive and negative stimulation offered to the child. Children were left in the charge of young nursemaids for up to 40% of the day while the mothers tended the crops. Despite this the total amount of positive and negative stimulation and care were similar whether or not the mother was engaged in fieldwork on the day of study. Grandmothers and fathers were both relatively unimportant caregivers. Total positive stimulation did not increase with age; on the contrary, young babies (3–9 months of age) were offered more positive stimulation and less negative stimulation than older ones (12–18 months). A positive correlation was found between total positive stimulation and developmental quotient (assessed by the Griffiths test). Similar amounts of care were given at all ages and there was no difference in the treatment of the two sexes.