Parental knowledge of children's motor development: A cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia

Background: This study was undertaken to explore parental knowledge of normal motor development. In addition, the association between parental knowledge and characteristics was investigated. Methods: A cross-sectional design was adopted for this study. An online survey was used to administer a four-part questionnaire designed for this study. The first part of the questionnaire focused on demographic information, such as age, age at birth of first child, and educational level. The second part consisted of questions about birth-related information sources, and the third part included questions about normal motor development. The fourth part was directed to participants who had children with DDs. The data were analysed descriptively and reported using absolute and relative frequencies. Linear regression was used to investigate the association between parental knowledge level and gender, age, education, age at first birth, number of children, and self-rated knowledge level. Results: A total of 4081 participants responded to the survey. Most participants were found to have low levels of parental knowledge, as 88.87% answered ≤ 50% of the developmental milestone questions correctly. Being a female and having a university education were significantly associated with high knowledge levels (p < 0.001 for both variables). Further, undergoing an awareness programme about normal child development was significantly associated with high knowledge levels (p = 0.02). No association was found between the factors of age, age at first birth, number of children, and knowledge rating and the level of parental knowledge about normal physical development. Conclusion(s): There is a lack of appropriate knowledge about normal motor development among parents in Saudi Arabia, which raises serious concerns about children's health in the country. Implications: Effective health education programmes on normal developmental milestones should be implemented by the Ministry of Health to improve the developmental outcomes of children in Saudi Arabia.