Home Furniture, Toys Can Affect Development of Infant Motor Skills

A study, titled "Further Development and Validation of the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development-Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS)," was conducted by a group of professors from the University of Texas at Arlington and Universidade Metodista de Piracicaba to find out how home items and toys affect infant development. The research was published in the journal "Physical Therapy" and was shared on the UTA website. 

The study was conducted by Priscila Caçola, Carl Gabbard, Maria I.L. Montebelo, and Denise C.C. Santos to more than 400 parents. Caçola and her colleagues created a simple questionnaire called Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development-Infant Scale, or AHEMD-IS, which was given to caregivers of infants within the age of 3 to 18 months. The research was done in three Brazilian states for more than five years.

The questions were divided into four categories which includes fine-motor and gross toys, physical space at home, and variety of stimulation. Fine-motor skills refers to smaller muscle movements like in the hands while gross-motor skills refers to large muscle movements like the arms, feet, and legs. Caretakers or parents were regularly asked about the availability of space at home for children to play, or number of times that they play with their children.

The objective of the questionnaire was to determine parents' awareness in assessing the environment at home -- like the presence of household items and the toys -- in correlation to their children's motor skills development.

According to Caçola, parents rarely evaluate how a toy can help improve their children during purchasing decision.

Through the questionnaire, the researchers were able to conclude that parents are not aware of the impact brought about by the presence of home items like sofa and toys to the development of motor skills on infants.

Caçola cites a couch, a table, and a toy as an example to explain the study. The couch and coffee table may be the first items that the infant will approach depending on the distance, or if the toy will move then the infant will get it. The items may soon lead the infant to crawl or walk which is part of their motor skill development.

She also said that the questionnaire will be helpful for parents with infants suffering from a condition that may hinder normal motor skill development.

"Developing a child's motor skills is extremely important because motor development is actually the mediator of cognitive, social and emotional development," saidc Caçola. "Good motor skills predict a whole lot later in life, so it might be something that all of us should be concerned about early in a child's life." 

Currently, AHEMD-IS is adapted by different physicians worldwide for better assessment of infant motor skills development.