caring capacity, the second underlying determinant, is the provision in households and communities "of time, attention, and support to meet the physical, mental, and social needs of the growing child and other household members"(ICN I992). examples of caring practices are child feeding, health seeking behaviours, support and cognitive stimulation for children,and care and support for mothers during pregnancy and lactation. the adequacy of such care is determined by caregiver's control of economic resources, autonomy in decision making, and physical and mental status. decisive to execute control is the caretaker's knowledge and beliefs.(for an in depth study see Smith and haddad I999).