Environmental resources, types of toys, and family practices that enhance child cognitive development.

PURPOSE

To identify the factors associated with the cognitive development of children from 24 to 42 months of age, as well as to characterize the availability of toys and resources present in the family environment, and the parental practices that signal family stability.

METHODS

Cross-sectional analytical study conducted with children regularly enrolled in public and private educational institutions of a medium-sized city. Cognitive development was assessed by means of the Bayley test and the quality of the environment was evaluated using the Adapted Family Environment Resource Inventory (FERI). The children were allocated into two groups based on the cognitive test result and compared regarding activities performed at home; reports of outings and trips in the last year; presence of regular scheduled activities; activities developed with parents; toys the child has or has had; presence of newspapers, magazines, and books at home; the person responsible for monitoring the child during day-care; and routines of the child and family.

RESULTS

Of the 104 children evaluated, 72% were enrolled in the public education network and 69% belonged to economic classes C and D. Regarding cognitive development, 55% had above-average development. In the bivariate analysis, it was observed that greater availability of toys and materials for the child and higher economic levels were related to better scores on the cognitive development test. These remained as predictors of cognitive development in binary logistic regression analysis.

CONCLUSION

Greater availability of resources in the family environment and economic levels were positively associated with cognitive development in children.