Texting parents about early child development: Behavioral changes and unintended social effects
Journal of Development Economics · 2026 · Oscar Barrera-Rodríguez、Karen Macours、Patrick Prémand、Renos Vakis
Abstract
Parenting interventions have the potential to improve early childhood development. Text messages are considered a promising channel to diffuse parenting information at low cost. This paper tests whether sending text messages about parenting practices impacts early childhood development. Households in rural Nicaragua were randomly assigned to receive messages about nutrition, health, stimulation and the home environment. The intervention led to significant changes in self-reported parenting practices. However, it did not improve children’s cognitive development. When local opinion leaders were randomly exposed to the same text message intervention, parental investments declined and children’s outcomes deteriorated. These negative effects were strongest for children of the least educated caregivers. Since interactions between parents and leaders about child development also decreased, the negative effects may have resulted from a crowding-out of efforts by local leaders.