Information Available to Parents Seeking Education about Infant Play, Milestones, and Development from Popular Sources

Author(s)Orlando, Julie M.
Author(s)Cunha, Andrea B.
Author(s)Alghamdi, Zainab
Author(s)Lobo, Michele A.
Date Accessioned2023-08-14T20:33:18Z
Date Available2023-08-14T20:33:18Z
Publication Date2023-05-19
DescriptionThis article was originally published in Behavioral Sciences. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13050429. © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
AbstractParents commonly seek information about infant development and play, yet it is unclear what information parents find when looking in popular sources. Play, Milestone, and Development Searches in Google identified 313 sources for content analysis by trained researchers using a standardized coding scheme. Sources included websites, books, and apps created by professional organizations, commercial entities, individuals, the popular press, and government organizations/agencies. The results showed that for popular sources: (1) author information (i.e., qualifications, credentials, education/experience) is not consistently provided, nor is information about the developmental process, parents’ role in development, or determining an infant’s readiness to play; (2) milestones comprise a majority of the content overall; (3) search terminology impacts the information parents receive; (4) sources from the Milestone and Development Searches emphasized a passive approach of observing developmental milestones rather than suggesting activities to actively facilitate learning and milestone development. These findings highlight the need to discuss parents’ online information-gathering process and findings. They also highlight the need for innovative universal parent-education programs that focus on activities to facilitate early development. This type of education has potential to benefit all families, with particular benefits for families with children who have unidentified or untreated developmental delays.
SponsorThis manuscript is based upon work supported by the University of Delaware Graduate College through the Unidel Distinguished Graduate Scholar Award (Orlando). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors.
CitationOrlando, Julie M., Andrea B. Cunha, Zainab Alghamdi, and Michele A. Lobo. 2023. "Information Available to Parents Seeking Education about Infant Play, Milestones, and Development from Popular Sources" Behavioral Sciences 13, no. 5: 429. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13050429
ISSN2076-328X
URLhttps://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/33068
Languageen_US
PublisherBehavioral Sciences
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywordschild development
Keywordsinternet
Keywordsinfancy
Keywordsparenting practices
Keywordsplay and playthings
Keywordshealth education
Keywordsinformation seeking
Keywordscontent analysis
Keywordsmilestones
Keywordsquality education
TitleInformation Available to Parents Seeking Education about Infant Play, Milestones, and Development from Popular Sources
TypeArticle
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Information Available to Parents Seeking Education about Infant.pdf
Size:
1.2 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Main article
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.22 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: