Influence of Child Rearing by Grandparent on the Development of Children Aged Six to Twelve Years
Sutham Nanthamongkolchai PhD*, Chokchai Munsawaengsub MD*, Chantira Nanthamongkolchai MSc**
Affiliation : * Department of Family Health, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand ** Health Center Region I, Bangkok, Thailand
Objective : To investigate the influence of child rearing by grandparent on the development of children aged
six to twelve years.
Material and Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 320 children that were cared for by a parent
and grandparent selected by cluster sampling. The data were collected between March 10 and April 8, 2006
by questionnaire about child and family factors. The TONI-III test was used to test the child development. Data
were analyzed by frequency distribution, logistic regression, and multiple logistic regression.
Results : Child caregiver had a significant influence on child development (p-value < 0.05). Children reared
by a grandparent had 2.0 times higher chance of having delayed development compared with those who were
reared by the parent. In addition, significant family factors that had impact on the child development were
child rearing and family income.
Conclusion : Child rearing by a grandparent had 2.0 times higher chance of having delayed development than
those reared by the parent. Therefore, family and health personnel should plan to ensure the development and
learning process of children that are cared by the grandparent.
Keywords : Child reared by grandparent, Children aged six to twelve years, Development
