OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to compare the duration of time that infants in child care centers were placed in infant seating devices to the duration of time spent on the floor or being held by child care providers.
METHOD. Thirty-eight infants who were typically developing (mean age = 4.5 months) from eight child care centers were observed minute-by-minute for a consecutive 120 min, targeting the amount of time each infant spent in seating devices, on the floor, or being held by child care providers.
RESULTS. The amount of time the infants spent in seating devices was significantly longer than on the floor (p = .0001) or being held by child care providers (p = .0001).
CONCLUSION. All infants spent more time in seating devices than on the floor or being held by child care providers. Future research should explore seating device use in infants identified as at-risk or as having special needs, particularly how child care routines for these infants may influence seating device use, as well as the impact of this practice on these infants’ motor development.
