Assessment of global motor performance and gross and fine motor skills of infants attending day care centers

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the global motor performance and the gross and fine motor skills of infants attending two public child care centers full-time. METHODS: This was a longitudinal study that included 30 infants assessed at 12 and 17 months of age with the Motor Scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-III). This scale allows the analysis of global motor performance, fine and gross motor performance, and the discrepancy between them. The Wilcoxon test and Spearman's correlation coefficient were used. RESULTS: Most of the participants showed global motor performance within the normal range, but below the reference mean at 12 and 17 months, with 30% classified as having "suspected delays" in at least one of the assessments. Gross motor development was poorer than fine motor development at 12 and at 17 months of age, with great discrepancy between these two subtests in the second assessment. A clear individual variability was observed in fine motor skills, with weak linear correlation between the first and the second assessment of this subtest. A lower individual variability was found in the gross motor skills and global motor performance with positive moderate correlation between assessments. Considering both performance measurements obtained at 12 and 17 months of age, four infants were identified as having a "possible delay in motor development". CONCLUSIONS: The study showed the need for closer attention to the motor development of children who attend day care centers during the first 17 months of life, with special attention to gross motor skills (which are considered an integral part of the child's overall development) and to children with suspected delays in two consecutive assessments.