A systematic review of social and physical home environmental factors associated with motor competence in typically developing toddlers

Introduction: Motor competence (MC) plays a key role in toddlers’ holistic development. MC is also key for cultivating an active and healthy lifestyle, and is considered a foundational precursor to more advanced movement patterns and sport-specific skills. However, recent evidence indicated that MC development is delayed in 1- to 3-years-olds. The etiology of a child’s MC can be attributed to cumulative interactions and exposures with the environment, both stimulating and hindering. Since the home environment is very influential during early childhood, this systematic review aims to identify the social and physical environmental factors at home associated with toddlers’ MC.

Methods: This registered review (CRD42024501137) follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Five databases were searched: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Education Resources Information Center and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. After conducting the systematic search, 4890 original research articles were retrieved, of which 59 could be included after duplicate removal and screening. Their methodological quality was determined using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies.

Results: Two studies found that the overall physical home environment is positively associated with MC (n=2, ꞵ[0.19-6.74], p<0.01), 4 articles specifically examined ‘toys’ (n=4, (r=4.47, p<0.01) & (ꞵ[0.06-1.38], p<0.05)). Regarding the social environment at home, parental education and parenting behaviors showed a positive association with MC (n=5 (r=0.071, p<0.01) & (ꞵ[0.04-4.90], p<0.05)) and (n=4, (r[0.31-0.37], p<0.05) & (ꞵ[0.14-0.47], p<0.01)), whereas parental age was not associated with MC (n=5). For other social environmental factors findings were rather inconsistent.

Conclusion: This systematic review identifies important stimulating and hindering factors, both inherent but also modifiable, related to the social and physical home environment to be associated with toddlers’ MC. These findings may help developing future home-oriented intervention components to counteract the general decline in MC levels among toddlers.