ORIGINAL ARTICLE Jurnal Ilmiah Kebidanan (The Journal of Midwifer. Volume 14. Number 1 : 76-85 DOI: https://doi. org/10. 33992/jik. e-ISSN: 2721-8864 p-ISSN: 2338-669X The Relationship Between Nutritional Status and Child Development Among Children Aged 2Ae5 Years at Puskesmas Seyegan 1,2. Monica Dwi Putri1. Nidatul Khofiyah Department of Midwifery. Aisyiyah Yogyakarta University. Yogyakarta. Indonesia Corresponding Author: putrimonicadwi5@gmail. ABSTRACT Article history: Submitted,2026/03/17 Accepted, 2026/04/07 Published, 2026/04/13 Keywords: Children. Cite This Article: Putri MD. Khofiyah N. The relationship between nutritional status and child development among children aged 2-5 years at Puskesmas Seyegan. J Ilm Kebidanan (The J Midwifer. :76-85. DOI: 10. 33992/jik. Developmental disorders in toddlers remain a global concern, particularly in developing countries such as Indonesia. Nutritional problems increase the risk of developmental delay by up to 4. Data from the Sleman District Health Office . reported 2% of toddlers in the working area of the Puskesmas Seyegan experienced nutritional problems and had never undergone developmental screening. This study aimed to determine the relationship between nutritional status and child development among children aged 2Ae5 years in this area. This quantitative descriptive study used an analytic cross-sectional design, involving 103 samples selected from a population of 1. 581 toddlers using the Slovin formula, recorded in December 2025. Primary data were collected through anthropometric measurements . eight and heigh. to assess nutritional status and developmental screening using the KPSP instrument. Data were analyzed using univariate and bivariate analyses with the Spearman rank correlation test. The results showed a p-value < 0. < 0. , indicating a significant relationship between nutritional status and child development. Most toddlers with normal nutritional status had normal development . 9%), while those with abnormal nutritional status were more likely to experience doubtful . 2%) and deviant development . 8%). In conclusion, nutritional status is significantly associated with toddler development. INTRODUCTION Development is a crucial process in a childAos life, particularly during the toddler period. reflects qualitative changes involving improvements in bodily functions, as well as motor, cognitive, language, social, and emotional skills. This process occurs gradually and is influenced by various factors, including genetics, environment, nutritional intake, and stimulation from parents and caregivers . Many parents still perceive child growth and development in a partial manner, with primary attention focused on physical growth indicators such as weight and height. This is reflected in routine visits to posyandu, which are mostly aimed at monitoring these growth parameters. However, awareness of the importance of monitoring child development such as motor, language, and socio-emotional skills remains low. Many parents assume that as long as a child appears physically healthy, their development is also adequate, without considering the possibility of non-obvious developmental delays . Available online at: http://ejournal. poltekkes-denpasar. id/index. php/JIK ORIGINAL ARTICLE Jurnal Ilmiah Kebidanan (The Journal of Midwifer. Volume 14. Number 1 : 76-85 DOI: https://doi. org/10. 33992/jik. e-ISSN: 2721-8864 p-ISSN: 2338-669X Globally, developmental delays in toddlers remain a significant public health issue, particularly in developing countries. UNICEF reported that one in three children worldwide does not achieve ageappropriate developmental milestones, especially in motor, language, and socio-emotional domains, due to inadequate early stimulation, insufficient nutritional intake, and unsupportive environments . The World Health Organization also stated that more than 200 million children under five years of age fail to reach their full developmental potential, with the highest burden occurring in Asia and Africa . Language delay is one of the most prevalent concerns, with reported rates of 12Ae16% in the United States, 24% in Thailand, 22% in Argentina, and up to 29. 9% in Indonesia . Meanwhile, studies show 5% of preschool children in Indonesia experience developmental delays in motor, language, and personal-social domains . National data from the Indonesian Ministry of Health indicate that 45. of infants in Indonesia experience developmental disorders. In Sleman Regency, approximately 25. of children experience developmental delays, with around 35% of these cases associated with nutritional problems such as stunting, wasting, and underweight . Nutritional problems during the golden period of early childhood are irreversible and have a direct impact on brain development and childrenAos motor abilities . Meanwhile, globally, the World Health Organization . reported the prevalence of stunting among children under five at 22. 3%, wasting at 6. 8%, and overweight at 5. 6%, with higher rates in Southeast Asia, particularly stunting at 26. 4% . Dinas Kesehatan Kabupaten Sleman reported that out of 580 toddlers weighed, the proportion of children with wasting was 0. 1% and severely wasting was 1. 4%, making Sleman Regency one of the areas with the highest nutritional problems in Yogyakarta Province . In the working area of Puskesmas Seyegan, 5. 2% of toddlers were identified as undernourished, which is higher than the district prevalence. Nutritional deficiencies in children have broad impacts, including impaired overall growth and development, and increase the risk of degenerative diseases in adulthood, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease . Therefore, early identification is crucial to enable appropriate Studies have shown that 50. 9% of toddlers with abnormal nutritional status have doubtful results on KPSP developmental screening . Other studies have also demonstrated a significant relationship between nutritional status and the development of children aged 1Ae5 years . -value = . Based on a preliminary study conducted in the working area of Puskesmas Seyegan, out of 581 recorded toddlers, 82 were identified as undernourished, and no structured developmental screening had been conducted. As a result, the potential for developmental delays has not been detected This condition underlies the researcherAos interest in examining the relationship between nutritional status and the development of children aged 2Ae5 years in the working area of Puskesmas Seyegan. METHOD This study aimed to identify the relationship between nutritional status and the development of children aged 2Ae5 years in the working area of Puskesmas Seyegan. This research employed a descriptive quantitative design using an analytic survey method with a cross-sectional approach, in which the independent variable . utritional status based on weight-for-heigh. and the dependent variable . hild development aged 2Ae5 year. were measured simultaneously. The study population consisted of all children aged 2Ae5 years recorded in the working area of Puskesmas Seyegan in December 2025, totaling 1. 581 toddlers. The sampling technique used was proportional stratified sampling, where the sample size was determined proportionally based on the number of toddlers in each Sampling was then continued using cluster random sampling through random selection to determine the posyandu as the research sites until the required sample size in each village was achieved. The selected posyandu included the following . Published by Midwifery Department of Health Polytechnic. Ministry of Health. Denpasar. This is an Open Access (OA) article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 4. 0 International License . ttps://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-sa/4. 0/). ORIGINAL ARTICLE Jurnal Ilmiah Kebidanan (The Journal of Midwifer. Volume 14. Number 1 : 76-85 DOI: https://doi. org/10. 33992/jik. e-ISSN: 2721-8864 p-ISSN: 2338-669X Table 1. Selected Posyandu Village Posyandu Tomat Kenikir Kantil Nangka Pisang Pete Mawar Margoagung Margoluwih Margomulyo Margodadi Margokaton Total Respondents The study sample consisted of toddlers who met the inclusion criteria, namely children aged 2Ae 5 years who attended posyandu in January 2026, were registered as targets in the working area of Puskesmas Seyegan, and whose parents provided consent for examination. Exclusion criteria included toddlers aged 2Ae5 years with congenital abnormalities, chronic diseases, and those whose parents had physical or mental impairments. Data collection used primary data, including child characteristics . ge, sex, history of exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feedin. , parental characteristics . aternal age, parity, and family incom. , and anthropometric measurements . eight and heigh. Nutritional status was determined based on weight-for-height (WHZ), while child development was assessed using the Pre-Screening Developmental Questionnaire (KPSP) with categories of normal, doubtful, and Validity and reliability testing were not performed, as the KPSP instrument is a standardized developmental screening tool developed by the Indonesian Ministry of Health and has been previously validated in terms of its psychometric properties. Therefore, additional testing was considered unnecessary, while weighing scales and stadiometers were calibrated according to applicable standards. The collected data were organized into a master table and analyzed using SPSS. Univariate analysis was performed using frequency distributions, while bivariate analysis employed the Spearman Rank correlation test to determine the relationship between nutritional status and the development of children aged 2Ae5 years. This study received ethical approval with number 5048/KEP-UNISA/XII/2025. RESULT AND DISCUSSION Characteristics of Toddler Respondents Table 2. Frequency distribution of respondent characteristics . Characteristics Toddler Age 24-36 Months 37-48 Months 49-60 Months Sex Male Female Exclusive Breastfeeding Yes Frequency Percentage (%) Available online at: http://ejournal. poltekkes-denpasar. id/index. php/JIK ORIGINAL ARTICLE Jurnal Ilmiah Kebidanan (The Journal of Midwifer. Volume 14. Number 1 : 76-85 DOI: https://doi. org/10. 33992/jik. Characteristics Frequency e-ISSN: 2721-8864 p-ISSN: 2338-669X Percentage (%) MP-ASI Yes Maternal Age 20-35 years >35 years Parity Primipara Multipara Family Income Ou UMK