Parenting programmes are a key pillar of early childhood development (ECD) policy globally. There is strong evidence that they can significantly improve key ECD outcomes, such as children’s cognitive, language, motor and social emotional development. Unfortunately, programmes often encounter challenges with low levels of parental engagement. Parents may be unaware of a programme, not enrol, only attend a few sessions, struggle to absorb the information covered during sessions or seldom implement the recommended practices at home. Behavioral science can increase the impact of parenting programmes by providing insights on why parental engagement issues arise and recommending solutions to address them.