The Impact of Home Motor Affordances on Motor, Cognitive and Social Development of Young Children

The present study evaluated the influence of home motor affordances on motor, cognitive, and social development of young children.

The sample consisted of 49 Iranian children, aged 24-42 months. This study was conducted in Qouchan, Khorasan, Iran in 2015. They was randomly selected by multi-stage cluster sampling from a single community. Participant's homes were assessed using the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development (AHEMD). The motor behavior of young child was measured with the Denver Developmental Screening Test, aspects of cognitive development (Total cognitive, Verbal IQ, and non-verbal IQ) were assessed using the Stanford-Binet scale, and finally, social development measured by the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale.

Although no statistically significant correlations were found between Total AHEMD scores and motor development, there were significant and positive correlations (P=0.04) for Total AHEMD with total cognitive development (r=0.29), verbal IQ (r=0.29), social development (r=0.33) and (P=0.019), SES (r=0.51) with (P=0.000). There was a significant relationship between the Play Materials subscale of the AHEMD with total cognitive development (r=0.32) with (P=0.024), verbal IQ (r=0.31) and (P=0.029), and social development (r=0.35) with (P=0.012). In addition, there were significant differences between total AHEMD score with parents who had an academic education.

Motor affordances in the home can have a significant positive influence on a young child's cognitive and social development.