Objectives: This paper describes the ecological and cultural backdrop of the subjects enrolled in an experimental study to test the validity of a conceptual model about the intellectual delay of undernourished children. Design: The experiment was a 12-month clinical, randomized trial on the effects of early supplementary feeding on two cohorts of children classi®ed as nutritionally-at-risk. Three different supplements (condensed milk micronutrients; skimmed milk micronutrients; skimmed milk) were given to the children during 6 or 12 months of the study. Setting: The plantations are 1500 ± 1800 m above sea level in Pangalengan, 50 km south of Bandung, West Java.Temperature¯uctuates from 10 to 17 C. A high yearly precipitation is 3000 mm. Communities are laid out at 5 ± 15 km from one another. Living conditions are modest. Subjects: The 156 subjects were recruited from 24 day-care-centers (DCC) that serviced families of 24 communities in six tea plantations. The 12-and 18-month-old cohorts included 73 and 83 children, respectively; each cohort included three subgroups that received distinct supplements. Obeservations: The interactions of the caretakers with the children in the DCCs were consistent with the socialization for survival mode. A primary concern was the physical growth, health, cleanliness, sanitation and safety of the children. Stimulating children, providing toys and initiating play or other activities that would emphasize educational development had a low priority.

Objectives: This paper reports the effects of an energy and micronutrient supplementation on quantitative and qualitative aspects of play among poorly nourished children. At issue is whether the supplement led to a progression in complexity of play. Design: two cohorts of children were randomly assigned to three treatments: E 1171 kJ 12 mg iron; M 12 mg iron 209 kJ; S 104 kJ. Supplementation was given for 6 months. Evaluations of play behavior were repeated four times. Setting: The sites were six tea plantations in Pangalengan, West Java. Subjects: The present study utilized a subsample of 55 children recruited for the larger Pangalengan project 6 months into the study. Thirty-eight children were recruited late enough to allow for longitudinal observations. The remaining cases were used for cross sectional observations only. Inclusion criteria were: no chronic disease; length-for-age À1 standard deviation (s.d.) and weight-for-length between À1 and À2 s.d. of the median of the reference of the World Health Organization. Methods: The children were videotaped during play. These tapes were coded for eight mutually exclusive categories of activities. Four activities coded represented manipulative, relational, functional and symbolic play. Results: Treatment did not affect qualitative play. Girls that received E increased functional play but boys showed the opposite effect. Children in the S group were breastfed more during play as compared to the E group. Children in the E group waited less to begin play.