This paper evaluates the impact of a weekly parenting home-visiting program based on the Reach Up curriculum and a cash transfer, using a randomized controlled trial in Thailand. The targeted children were preschoolers, with an average age of 36 months at the start of the parenting program. The intent-to-treat effect of the 10-month parenting program is positive and significant, with an effect size of approximately 0.13–0.16 SD, whereas the cash transfer is positive but insignificant. Treatment-on-the-treated effects reveal that each home visit improves child outcomes by 0.004 SD. The parenting program is more beneficial for younger and disadvantaged children, as measured by having special needs, less educated parents, lower household wealth, and fewer books at home, whereas the cash transfer is more effective for younger children, children with special needs, and boys.
This study investigates the role of parenting styles in child development in Rural Thailand using early childhood panel data. Our results across various specifications indicate that an authoritarian parenting style was negatively and significantly associated with the child’s non-cognitive skills, whereas results for cognitive skills were generally insignificant. These results imply that parenting styles affect non-cognitive skills, but not cognitive skills, of children aged between five and eleven years. However, we found that the impact of authoritative parenting is less conclusive.
“การทํางานที่ตรงโจทย์ปัญหามากที่สุด คือ การลดจํานวนเด็กที่มีสมรรถนะพื้นฐาน ค่อนข้างต่่ำให้ได้มากที่สุด ด้วยการให้เวลา ให้โอกาส และเติมเต็มทรัพยากร เพื่อเด็กกลุ่มนี้ จะช่วยเพิ่มเปอร์เซ็นต์เด็กสมรรถนะสูงไปในตัว”