Supporting Infants' Motor Development through Water Activities: A Preliminary Case-Control Study

The first twelve months of an infant's life are the most dynamic time in the development of motor activities. Water activities can positively stimulate the motor skills, visual perception, and cognitive abilities of infants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the motor development of inf...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Healthcare (Basel) 2024-08, Vol.12 (16), p.1556
Main Authors: Jakobowicz, Oliwia, Ogonowska-Slodownik, Anna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Aquatic exercises
Babies
Children & youth
Development
Health aspects
Infants
Motor ability
Parents & parenting
Participation
Pediatric research
Physiological aspects
Physiology
Questionnaires
Skills
Water
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Summary:The first twelve months of an infant's life are the most dynamic time in the development of motor activities. Water activities can positively stimulate the motor skills, visual perception, and cognitive abilities of infants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the motor development of infants aged 3-12 months participating in water activities. Participants in the study included 43 infants aged 3-12 months who attended water activities classes at Warsaw City swimming pools (n = 21) and infants not attending any classes (n = 22). Two methods of assessing motor development were used in the study: the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) and the Early Motor Development Questionnaire (EMQ). The raw scores of the AIMS test and the EMQ questionnaire were statistically significantly different ( < 0.05) in both groups between the first and second examinations. In contrast, there was a statistically significant improvement in motor development measured by AIMS and expressed in percentiles ( = 0.002) and in percentiles for Polish children ( = 0.030) in the water group. The age-independent total score of the EMQ before and after the intervention did not change significantly ( = 0.149). The water environment has the potential to support the motor development of infants aged 3-12 months.
ISSN:2227-9032
2227-9032
DOI:10.3390/healthcare12161556