Mouthing Behavior Patterns Among Young Children Aged 6 Months to 72 months: A Micro-Activity Analysis in Three States
Description
Children's mouthing behaviors with various indoor surfaces provide primary pathways for ingestion exposure to environmental contaminants. This microactivity study examined 67 children aged 6 months to 72 months across three U.S. states (North Carolina, Florida, and Arizona) using improved videotaping and video-translation methods to collect and process video data. Analysis of 3- 4 hours of indoor activity per child revealed distinct mouthing patterns across age groups. Mouth contacts were predominantly characterized by "Nothing" behaviors (71-83% duration, 40-54 contacts/hour across age groups), with "Food-Cont" most prevalent in 6-12 month infants (14% duration, 17 contacts/hour) declining to minimal levels in 36-72 months (1% duration, 2 contacts/hour). Hand-to-mouth contacts increased with age, peaking at 36-72 months (7% duration, 18 contacts/hour). "Porous plastic toy" mouthing decreased with age (from 4% to 1% duration). Location analysis showed shifts from living room-focused mouthing in younger children (52 contacts/hour for 6- 12 months) to bedroom environments in older groups (25 contacts/hour for 36- 72 months). These findings provide crucial quantitative data for understanding children's mouthing exposure patterns in indoor environments and can inform risk assessment strategies for ingestion exposures to chemicals in children's products and environmental contaminants.