ABSTRACT
We conducted a longitudinal investigation on the relationships among motor and cognitive development, biological aspects, maternal practices, parental knowledge, and family environments of infants. Forty-nine infants aged between 3 and 16 months participated in the study. They were evaluated through the Alberta Infant Motor Scale and the Cognitive Scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Their parents answered a questionnaire about biological factors, the Daily Activities of Infant Scale, affordances for motor development (Baby Scale) in the home environment, and the Brazilian version of the Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory. We conducted evaluations in schools for 4 months. Generalized estimating equations, Bonferroni correction, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were used. Significant associations were found in the (1) univariate analysis between motor and cognitive development and environmental factors (education level, income, toy availability, physical space, parental practices and knowledge, breastfeeding duration, and school frequency); (2) multivariate analyses between motor development and income, and between father's age and physical space at home. Motor and cognitive developments were concluded to depend on each other, and environmental factors were shown to be more significant in the associations rather than the biological ones, stressing the importance of home, of parental care, and of the experiences children go through along the first years of their lives.
Keywords:
Motor Skills; Cognition; Environment; Child development
