This qualitative dataset was collected in Nepal’s Dhanusha district in the plains of Nepal in June 2012. It arose from a study that aimed to explore and learn about beliefs and practices prevalent in households and communities regarding cognitive and socio-emotional caregiving practices among mothers and grandmothers in rural areas of Dhanusha district, Nepal.  The record consists of seven semi-structured interviews (SSIs) (four with mothers and three with grandmothers) of children under three years of age and four Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with mothers. All SSIs and FGDs with caregivers were conducted in the local Maithili language by eight experienced field coordinators, working in groups of two. Field coordinators were fluent in Maithili and Nepali. For analysis, all data were transcribed verbatim into Nepali and translated into English. We have anonymised all data for open-access publication. This data contributes to the paper “Children learn on their own by observing and imitating”: a qualitative exploration of caregivers’ perspectives on cognitive and socio-emotional caregiving practices for children 0-3 years in lowland Nepal”