{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,3]],"date-time":"2026-06-03T19:10:09Z","timestamp":1780513809019,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1780272000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Indonesian Education Scholarship"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Household poverty is a known risk factor for early childhood development. However, the extent to which caregiver education may moderate income-related developmental disadvantages remains underexplored in Southeast Asian contexts. This study investigated whether caregiver educational attainment buffers the association between household income, child-rearing environments, and early developmental outcomes in Indonesia. Methods: This study utilized cross-sectional data from Indonesian caregivers. To maximize statistical power, analyses of the home environment using the Index of Child Care Environment included the full sample (N = 933). Analyses of developmental outcomes using the Early Childhood Development Index were restricted to 3- and 4-year-old children (N = 355). General Linear Models (GLMs) were conducted, controlling for child age and sex. Results: For the home environment, both household income (p = 0.042) and caregiver education (p = 0.021) were independent, significant predictors, with no significant interaction. However, for developmental outcomes, the Income \u00d7 Caregiver Education interaction was statistically significant (p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: Income and caregiver education were independently associated with the home environment, while their interaction was associated with developmental outcomes among children aged 3 to 4 years. These findings are consistent with an educational buffering hypothesis and warrant further longitudinal research.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13060767","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,3]],"date-time":"2026-06-03T18:08:07Z","timestamp":1780510087000},"page":"767","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Buffering Effect of Caregiver Education on Early Childhood Development in Low-Income Households: Evidence from Indonesia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0621-8313","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yuri","family":"Nurdiantami","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan"},{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta, Jakarta 12450, Indonesia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hilda","family":"Meriyandah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tokie","family":"Anme","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8575, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e916","DOI":"10.1016\/S2214-109X(16)30266-2","article-title":"Risk of Poor Development in Young Children in Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries: An Estimation and Analysis at the Global, Regional, and Country Level","volume":"4","author":"Lu","year":"2016","journal-title":"Lancet Glob. 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