Abstract:
Aims: Online support communities are popular among parents in developing countries looking for resources on development in infancy and childhood. This perspective article describes parent’s utilization of a Facebook community managed by professionals trained in early childhood development, to ask questions and mitigate concerns about their children’s motor development.
Methods: As part of a quality improvement initiative, questions posted by parents of children between birth and 3 years of age, over a two-year period, were categorized by motor skill or area of focus. Questions were also classified based on whether parents were seeking information or screening about their own children’s motor development.
Results: Parents primarily expressed concerns and sought professional support within the first 18 months to discern if their own children’s motor development was progressing as expected and how they could support their children’s learning. Misconceptions surrounding motor skill development were also noted and may be related to beliefs predominant in Indian culture.
Conclusions: In highly populous developing nations, digital platforms have the potential to bridge gaps in awareness and connect parents to trained professionals that can provide timely, culturally sensitive, and evidence-based support on early motor development.
