Introduction: For mothers of infants aged 0-36 months, knowing precisely when each developmental stage is of the child is crucial. This study was to find out the mothers' knowledge and anxiety levels about their 0- to 36-month-old children's development as well as the relationship between them.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted with 139 mothers who applied to the pediatric outpatient clinics of a training and research hospital in a province in the Central Anatolia Region (February 2021-October 2022), agreed to participate in the study, and had children between the ages of 0-36 months. Study data were collected using the “Mother and child information form”, “The Caregiver Knowledge of Child Development Inventory (CKCDI)” and “Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)”.
Results: It was determined that the mothers had a moderate level of knowledge about child development with an CKCDI score average of 20.07±6.37, and that their anxiety was mild with an BAI score average of 11.31±9.46. The difference between the CKCDI score averages of the mothers according to their educational status, employment status and the number of children they have is significant (p<0.05).
Discussion and Conclusion: It was found that mothers of children 0–36 months exhibited low anxiety and a moderate amount of awareness about how their children developed. Given that the mothers' level of knowledge regarding their children's development was below expectations in this study, pediatric nurses should conduct informational sessions and one-on-one education programs to raise mothers' understanding of their children's development and lessen their anxiety.