Table 2.

Characteristics and caring practices of under-five children in Dubti district, Afar Regional State, Northeast Ethiopia, May 2017 (n = 840).

Characteristics	Categories	Frequency (n)	Percent (%)
Child's sex	Male	476	56.7
	Female	364	43.3
Child age in months	6–11	254	30.2
	12–23	232	27.6
	24–35	154	18.3
	36–47	104	12.4
	48–59	96	11.4
Birth order	1	94	11.2
	2–3	422	50.2
	4–5	194	23.1
	≥6	130	15.5
Initiation of breastfeeding	Within one hour	352	41.9
	Hours later	290	34.5
	Days later	198	23.6
Received prelacteal feeding	Yes	352	41.9
	No	488	58.1
Type of prelacteal food (n = 352)	Animal milk	262	74.4
	Butter	69	19.6
	Water	15	4.3
	Others	6	1.7
Avoiding colostrum	Yes	384	45.7
	No	456	54.3
Exclusive breastfeeding	Yes	245	29.9
	No	595	70.1
Currently breastfeeding	Yes	286	34.0
	No	554	66.0
Timely complementary feeding started	Yes	105	12.5
	No	735	87.5
Materials used to feed	Spoon	388	46.2
	Cup	172	20.5
	Hand	242	28.8
	Bottle	38	4.5
Dietary diversity score	<4	138	16.4
	≥4	296	35.2
Child immunization	Yes	252	30.0
	No	588	70.0
Diarrhoea preceding two weeks	Yes	108	12.9
	No	732	87.2
Fever preceding two weeks	Yes	100	11.9
	No	740	88.1