Parenting Behaviors in the First Year of Life: A National Comparison of Latinos and Other Cultural Communities

The present study utilizes a nationally representative sample of infants and families (N = 10,498) to examine Latino parenting, building upon previous studies on book reading, storytelling, singing, and teaching behaviors. The findings suggest that, once factors pertaining to family resources and characteristics have been accounted for (e.g., educational level, knowledge about infant development, partner conflict, religious service attendance, and child age), there are relatively few differences in the examined parenting behaviors across racial/ethnic groups. One exception pertains to less frequent book reading and storytelling among mothers of Latino infants, suggesting that culturally responsive interventions be developed targeting both of these practices. This work was supported by the National Task Force on Early Childhood Education for Hispanics and the Foundation for Child Development. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and editorial support on earlier drafts of this article.