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Locomotion development and infants' object interaction in a day-care environment

Noriko Toyama1

  • 1School of Human Sciences, Waseda University, Tokorozawa, Japan.

Infancy : the Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies
|December 22, 2022
PubMed

Insights

As infants develop locomotion, their object interactions shift. Walking infants engage more socially, driven by social stimuli, unlike crawlers who are more object-oriented.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Infant Behavior
  • Social Interaction

Background:

  • Locomotion development is a critical milestone in infancy.
  • Understanding the interplay between motor skills and social engagement is crucial for child development research.
  • Previous studies have not fully explored how the emergence of independent locomotion influences social interactions involving objects.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the longitudinal relationship between the development of infant locomotion and their social interactions centered around objects.
  • To differentiate object-oriented versus socially-driven behaviors in infants at different stages of locomotor development.
  • To examine the impact of caregiver presence on infant social interactions during locomotion development.

Main Methods:

  • A longitudinal observational study was conducted over one year with 13 infants and 7 caregivers in a Japanese day-care setting.
  • Infants' manual contact with objects and pre-contact movements were recorded.
  • Social interactions, including bidirectional and triadic exchanges, were documented across different locomotor stages (crawling, cruising, walking).

Main Results:

  • Object contact and pre-contact movements did not significantly differ across locomotor levels.
  • Infants who began walking showed increased social interactions compared to crawlers or cruisers.
  • Social interactions intensified with more caregivers present and increased in frequency as infants started walking, involving more movement prior to interaction.

Conclusions:

  • Infant locomotion development significantly influences social interaction patterns.
  • Crawling infants exhibit more object-focused engagement, whereas walking infants demonstrate locomotion driven by social cues.
  • Walking facilitates more complex social interactions within a multi-person environment, suggesting locomotion aids in developing elaborated social skills through objects.

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