Knowledge and Anxiety Levels of Mothers of Children Aged 0–36 Months About Their Children’s Development

Introduction: It is critical for mothers of children aged 0–36 months to understand the exact timing of their children’s developmental stage. This study aimed to determine the mothers’ knowledge and anxiety levels regarding the development of their children aged 0- to 36-month-old as well as the relationship between them.
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 and 36 months. The data were collected through the “Mother–Child Information Form,” “The Caregiver Knowledge of Child Development Inventory (CKCDI),” and “Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI).”
Results: The mothers had a moderate level of knowledge about child development with a CKCDI score average of 20.07±6.37, and their anxiety level was mild with a BAI score average of 11.31±9.46. The difference between the average CKCDI scores of the mothers according to their educational status, employment status, and the number of children they have was found to be significant (p<0.05).
Discussion and Conclusion: The mothers of children aged 0–36 months exhibited low anxiety and moderate level of awareness about child development. Given that the level of knowledge of mothers regarding their children’s development was below expectations in this study, pediatric nurses were advised to conduct informational sessions and one-on-one education programs to increase the mothers’ understanding of their children’s development and lessen their anxiety.

Keywords: Anxiety; Growth-development; Knowledge level; Mother; Pediatric nurse