Opvattingen en gedrag van ouders met betrekking tot de motorische ontwikkeling van hun baby

Abstract

Introduction. Parents play a crucial role in the motor development of the infant by stimulating their child, by doing activities like baby swimming, baby massage and placing the child in a sitting position. In addition, the behavior of parents seems to correlate with their beliefs. However, this connection has not been investigated before regarding the motor development. There are differences between Israeli and Dutch parents in behavior and beliefs regarding the motor development. The aim of this study is to examine whether there is a connection between parental beliefs and stimulating the infants motor development. A comparison will be made between Israeli and Dutch parents. Methods. 404 parents of firstborn children between 1-7.5 months, completed two digital questionnaires. The subject of the used part of the PB-MD is the belief of the importance of stimulating the infant and the belief of the natural motor development. The part of the MOHAB used in this study is about whether parents stimulate their child by providing in activities like swimming, massages and sitting. Results. Swimming and placing in a sitting position are predicted by culture. Dutch parents seem to stimulate their child more often with baby swimming and placing the child in a sitting position than Israeli parents. Baby massages are predicted by the level of education. Academically educated parents stimulate their child more often with baby massage than parents with lower levels of education. Discussion. Parental beliefs do not seem to be predictors and culture does not seem to moderate the connection.