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Effect of Crianza Positiva e-messaging program on adult–child language interactions

SDGs Impacted

Wide variability in language development is present from very early in life, as early as eight months. Early experiences are among the most important predictors of language development, along with maternal education. Research has found that parental interventions that target caregiver's responsiveness and communication patterns are effective in changing parental behavior and promoting language development, with some reports of long-term effects on academic achievement and economic outcomes in adulthood. However, these programs are, in many cases, resource-intensive and difficult to scale up. In this article, we evaluate the effects of a low-cost e-messaging intervention directed at parents with children below the age of 2 on the caregiver–child dyad communication patterns. The Crianza Positiva e-messaging intervention consists of a series of text and audio messages delivered to the mobile phones of families three times a week for a period of six months.

Impact / Outcome
At a 10% level of statistical significance, we find evidence that the intervention decreased the total duration of child vocalizations and increased the total duration of adult vocalizations. The estimates on the ITT indicator are −45 seconds per vocalization for the child, compared with an average duration for control children of 200 seconds (−23%), and 29 s for adults, compared with an average of 146 seconds for control subjects (20%).
Funding sources
Public/Private
Key Metrics
Parents’ involvement in early literacy practices and parental sensitivity and responsiveness
Sector
Education
Intervention lever
Direct government
Operating model
Public-private partnership
Target population
Children
Year published
01 January 2022

The EDISON Alliance

A World Economic Forum Initiative