THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MOTHER'S PARENTING PATTERNS AND THE INCIDENCE OF STUNTING IN TODDLERS

Abstract

Stunting is a chronic nutritional problem that remains a challenge in Indonesia and impacts children's physical growth, cognitive development, and future productivity. One factor contributing to stunting is maternal parenting, as mothers play a key role in feeding, providing health care, and meeting the basic needs of toddlers. Various studies have examined the relationship between maternal parenting and stunting, but the results are mixed. Therefore, a literature review is needed to obtain a more comprehensive picture of this relationship. This study used a literature review method by examining scientific articles discussing the relationship between maternal parenting and stunting in toddlers. Literature sources were obtained from national and international journal databases with keywords related to maternal parenting and stunting. The selected articles met the inclusion criteria: they were relevant to the topic, involved toddlers aged 0–59 months, and were published within the last 5–10 years. Data were analyzed descriptively. The review results showed that most studies found a relationship between maternal parenting and stunting. The most influential aspects include feeding practices, the appropriateness of exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding, food variety, and child health care. It can be concluded that maternal parenting patterns are an important determinant in the occurrence of stunting in toddlers.