Interactive play: a strategy to improve nurturing care and movement behaviours for infants

Experiences and stimulation in the first few years of life affect health, learning and well-being throughout childhood and into adulthood. Young children need to receive sufficient stimulation, and to play actively so that they can grow and develop normally and become healthy adults. My earlier research suggests that many children in South Africa do not get the opportunity for stimulating and active play with their parents. These children are also often poorly nourished (either underweight or overweight). During this fellowship I want to test whether interactive play (which is emotionally engaging and cognitively stimulating play with a caregiver) can promote nurturing and caring home environments, as well as increase infant movement and activity. This would mean that these children may grow and develop better in the crucial early life period, so that they are not at increased risk for disease later in life.