Gross Motor Milestones and Subsequent Development

Area of Science:

• Developmental Pediatrics
• Child Psychology
• Longitudinal Cohort Studies

Background:

• Gross motor milestones are crucial indicators of early childhood development.
• Understanding the relationship between motor skill acquisition and later developmental outcomes is important for early identification of potential delays.
• The influence of birth status (singleton vs. twin) on this relationship requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the longitudinal associations between the age of achieving gross motor milestones and subsequent child development.
• To compare these associations in singletons and twins.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Upstate KIDS study (children born 2008-2010).
• Collected maternal reports of motor milestones at 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24 months.
• Assessed child development at age 4 years using the Battelle Developmental Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-2).
• Employed multivariate linear regressions for primary analyses in singletons and examined associations in twins.

Main Results:

• Later achievement of standing with assistance predicted lower BDI-2 scores in singletons, particularly in adaptive and cognitive skills.
• In twins, no significant association was found between age at milestone achievement and total BDI-2 score after adjusting for gestational age and birth weight.

Conclusions:

• The age of achieving motor milestones is a potential predictor of various aspects of later child development in singletons.
• In twins, perinatal factors appear to be stronger predictors of later development, potentially overshadowing the predictive role of early motor milestones.