Worldwide, over 250 million children under five are at risk of not achieving their developmental potential due to extreme poverty, malnutrition, infections, and unstimulating environments. Caregivers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices of child care are a salient yet important factor in influencing early childhood development (ECD) outcomes. While knowledge, attitudes and practices of ECD and associated factors are indeed noticeable and contribute significantly to developmental outcomes, the chances of them being addressed are minimal as they are not being investigated. We aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of ECD, and associated challenges in an urban-poor setting in Kenya. A qualitative survey was conducted among parents and other community members in Korogocho, Nairobi within the context of a larger study which aimed to examine the feasibility and impact of a mobile phone application for monitoring child developmental milestones. We conducted focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) with 64 primary caregivers, 64 community health volunteers (CHVs), and 11 representatives from county and sub-county government to gauge their knowledge, attitude and practices in ECD. We also asked them about the challenges they faced in supporting child stimulation, nutrition and health care, and what their expectations were of the proposed intervention. Interviews were audio-recorded, and the data were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. The results showed that the community (parents, and CHVs) appreciated the importance of ECD. However, their perceptions and caregiving practices were generally poor and were driven by poverty and cultural and religious beliefs and practices, and family factors that act in the background of poverty. Implications of these findings for future research, policy and interventions for improving these practices are discussed.

在世界范围内，由于极端贫困，营养不良，感染和环境不佳，超过2.5亿五岁以下儿童处于无法发挥其发展潜力的危险中。保姆的知识，态度和做法是影响幼儿发展（ECD）结果的重要但重要的因素。尽管ECD的知识，态度和实践以及相关因素确实很引人注目，并且对发展成果有重大贡献，但解决这些问题的机会很小，因为没有对其进行研究。我们的目标是评估肯尼亚城市贫困地区儿童早期发展的知识，态度和做法以及相关的挑战。在Korogocho的父母和其他社区成员中进行了定性调查，内罗毕是在一项更大的研究范围内的，该研究旨在检查手机应用程序在监测儿童发展里程碑方面的可行性和影响。我们与64位主要护理人员，64位社区卫生志愿者（CHV）以及来自县和县以下政府的11名代表进行了焦点小组讨论（FGD）和主要信息提供者访谈（KII），以评估他们在ECD中的知识，态度和做法。我们还询问他们在支持儿童刺激，营养和保健方面面临的挑战，以及他们对拟议干预措施的期望如何。访谈被录音，并使用主题分析对数据进行转录和分析。结果表明，社区（父母和CHV）赞赏ECD的重要性。然而，他们的看法和照料做法普遍较差，并受到贫穷，文化和宗教信仰和习俗以及在贫穷背景下起作用的家庭因素的驱使。讨论了这些发现对未来研究，对改善这些做法的政策和干预措施的意义。