There is a folk belief that Jizo Bosatsu guards children who are bullied by ogres at Sai-no-kawara (the limbo of children) so that Jizo Bosatsu has been worshipped for the veneration of children and miscarried fetuses.
賽の河原で獄卒に責められる子供を地蔵菩薩が守るという民間信仰もあり、子供や水子の供養でも地蔵信仰を集めた。