| dc.description.abstract | This thesis reports on a study carried out in Peri -Urban
Thika. The study aimed at establishing from the mothers of
children 0 -2 years old which of their dailly activities are
regarded specifically as childcare acti vi ties, and also to
establish the time spent in accomplishing each activity. Some
characteristics of the caregivers in this community were also
determined and described.
The study population consisted of mothers from the low income
group who were interviwed using a structured questionnaire to
obtain demographic information. The time taken performing the
various childcare activities was determined and recorded using
a time schedule applied for 2 day (10 hour) periods of
continous observation. The mean for the two days was uRed in
the analysis.
Results showed that Food Preparation, Bathing, Feeding and
Washing the child's clothes are regarded as the most important
childcare activities. These were also observed to be the most
frequently performed activities irrespective of who provided
the care. Breastfeeding and holding the child though time
consuming considerable amounts of time were not however
regarded as 'work' by most of the mothers. The findings
further indicated that time taken to perform the various
childcare activites tended to vary with the child's age, birth
xiii
order, number of children less than 5 years in the household,
mothers level of education and whether the mother had some
form of emploYment. However, these
statistically significant (P=0.05).
findings were not
Mothers in the study community emerged as the principal
caregivers. However, the task of caregiving was also shared
with not only other household members but with neighbours as
well. The nutrition status of children in the community as
determined by anthropometry was found to be fairy good with
the level of wasting (0.7%) and stunting (14%) being
relatively low. However, the findings indicated that
comparatively, children who were stunted had less time devoted
to them for breastfeeding, food preparation and feeding than
those who were not. In summary, the results indicated that
there is a strong emphasis on physical compared to
psychosocial aspects of care, judging from the amount of time
allocated to activities in the two categoreis.
There is therefore need to raise the level of awareness on the
importance of care for early child growth and development
among mothers. Education, especially on aspects of cognitive
and psychosocial care should be integreted into existing
health and nutrition packages for mothers. | en |
