Motor Affordances in the Home Environment for Children 18 to 42 Months: Impact of Socioeconomic Status, Rate of Sports Experience, and Level of Physical Activity of Parents

Considering the importance of the multidimensional character of the home environment in developmental research, especially the motor development of children, the current study examines the effect of parents' socioeconomic status, sports experience rate, and the level of physical activity on the level of motor affordances.

The research method with a cross-sectional approach was descriptive, and data collection was a survey that was conducted in 2022. Participants included 236 parents (father and mother) with children aged 18-42 months and were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. Parents scored their physical and athletic activities based on level and background/experience. Their socioeconomic standing was determined based on their income and education. The home environment was assessed using the Persian version of the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development-Self-Report (AHEMD-SR).

The results showed no significant relationship between the rate of sports experience and the level of physical activity of fathers with home motor affordances scores. However, this relationship was significant with the rate of mothers' sports experience (P<0.001, r=0.24), and motor affordances were significantly different from mothers' sports experience (P<0.001, effect size = 11%). The results showed a significant relationship between motor affordances and the mothers' level of physical activity (P<0.05, Eta = 0.21). In addition, there is a significant difference between motor affordances and the mothers' level of physical activity (P<0.05, effect size = 6%). In addition, socioeconomic status indicators had a significant effect of 44% on the level of home motor affordances (P<0.001).

Only the higher the mothers' rate of sports experience and the level of physical activity (more than two years) along with the criteria of socioeconomic status in providing and strengthening home motor affordances for children is more influential and effective. Among the different dimensions of motor affordances, the two dimensions of fine-and-gross motor toys are strongly influenced by the economic conditions of families as well as the sport's history of the mothers.