While there is an increasing global call for integrated approaches to early childhood development (ECD) policy-making and implementation, parenting practices are not consistently measured against comprehensive ECD indicators. This study on parenting for ECD in Ethiopia was guided by the Nurturing Care Framework (NCF) to capture parenting practices within and across five essential caregiving domains: nutrition, health, safety and security, early learning and responsive caregiving. It used a mixed-methods design to analyse parenting practices of young children across five population settings in Ethiopia (i.e. urban, rural, pastoralist, internally displaced populations and refugee settings). The findings show that across these settings, parenting practices often fell short of what was needed for children's healthy growth and development; especially with regards to nutrition, safety and security, and health. The parenting practices were mostly due to a lack of access, lack of knowledge or information and financial constraints. Children experienced unmet needs across multiple domains. Children were the least likely to receive adequate nurturing care if they lived in rural households, lived in a home where caregivers and household heads had not completed primary education, and/or where caregivers had a lower sense of self-efficacy.