Table 1.

Descriptive characteristics of children and their mothers (n = 379).

Variables	Category	Frequency	Percentage
Child sex	Girls	181	48
	Boys	198	52
Birth order	First	154	41
	Middle	52	14
	Last	173	46
Full-term baby	Yes	333	88
	No	46	12
Child breast-fed	Yes	326	86
	No	53	14
Length of breast-feeding	Less than 6 months	106	28
	Between 6 and 12 months	75	20
	Above 12 months	144	38
Mixed feeding	Yes	151	40
	No	228	60
Introduction of solid food	Less than 6 months	188	50
	Between 6 and 12 months	169	45
	Immediately at 1 year	22	6
Mothers’ age (years)	<25	93	25
	26–34	168	44
	≥35	118	31
Employment status	Employed	108	28
	Unemployed	271	72
Marital status	Single	303	80
	Married	76	20
Household monthly income	<USD 296.37	267	70
	≥USD 296.37	112	30
Receiving social grant	Yes	326	86
	No	53	14
Level of education	High literacy	350	92
	Low literacy	29	8
Number of household members	1 to 4	281	74
	≥5	98	26
Housing	Brick house	135	36
	Non-brick	244	64
Access to electricity	Yes	338	89
	No	41	11
Access to water	Yes	292	77
	No	87	23
Type of toilet	Flush toilet	333	88
	Pit toilet	46	12

Low literacy (i.e., primary school and did not complete secondary school) and high literacy (i.e., completed secondary school and/or tertiary education).