Impact of extrinsic factors on fine motor performance of children attending day care.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the impact of extrinsic factors on fine motor performance of children aged two years old.


METHODS
73 children attending public and 21 private day care centers were assessed. Day care environment was evaluated using the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale - Revised Edition (ITERS-R), fine motor performance was assessed through the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development - III (BSITD-III), socioeconomic data, maternal education and time of start at the day care were collected through interviews. Spearman's correlation coefficient was calculated to assess the association between the studied variables.


RESULTS
The time at the day care was positively correlated with the children's performance in some fine motor tasks of the BSITD-III, showing that the activities developed in day care centers were important for the refinement of specific motor skills, while the overall fine motor performance by the scale was associated with maternal education and the ITERS-R scale sub-item "language and understanding".


CONCLUSIONS
Extrinsic factors such as higher maternal education and quality of day care centers are associated with fine motor performance in children attending day care.
Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, SP, Brasil. Electronic address: carol_corsi92@yahoo.com.br.
Carolina
C
Corsi
Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, SP, Brasil.
Mariana Martins Dos
MM
Santos
Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, SP, Brasil.
Luísa de Andrade Perez
LA
Marques
Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, SP, Brasil.
Nelci Adriana Cicuto Ferreira
NA
Rocha
D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills
Child development; Children; Creches; Crianças; Day care centers; Desenvolvimento infantil; Destreza motora fina; Fine motor dexterity; Preschooler; Pré‐escolar; Saúde escolar; School health