Introduction: The home environment is a fundamental agent for infant development in the first year of life. Objective: To evaluate the opportunities for environmental stimulation and the motor development of infants at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of age and determine the association between these opportunities and the parents’ schooling and economic levels, at each age studied. Methods: This is a longitudinal study using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) to assess motor development, the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development - Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS) questionnaire to assess the stimulation opportunities at home, and the Brazilian Association of Research Companies (ABEP) questionnaire to classify the economic level of the families. The association between opportunities for environmental stimulation and schooling and economic levels was determined by the chi-squared test. Results: Thirty-seven infants participated, 54.1% of whom were boys. At 3 months of age, the opportunities for environmental stimulation were unsatisfactory, while at 6, 9, and 12 months satisfactory opportunities predominated. Three infants scored below 10% on the AIMS at 3 months of age, indicating delayed motor development. There was a significant association between economic level and total AHEMD-IS score (p = 0.031), and the toy dimension for gross (p = 0.016) and fine (p = 0.043) motor skills. Conclusion: The infants’ home environment did not provide sufficient opportunities for stimulation in the first months, but improved during the first year. Motor development was considered delayed for three infants, but was suitable in subsequent evaluations.

Child shelters have often been cited as sites of negative impact on neuromotor development and are important risk factors for acute respiratory infections in this population. In this way, the monitoring of the neuromotor development and the ventilatory function of children living in shelter institutions should be prioritized, with actions to prevent and promote health. The aim of this study is to report the experience of physical therapist undergraduates' students in a child care institution in the city of Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais. This project consisted in evaluating the motor development and the ventilatory function of infants and children, providing physiotherapeutic care and orientations to caregivers. The experience at the shelter allowed physical therapist undergraduates' students to integrate teaching with practice through physical therapy assessment and treatment in pediatrics, early identification of risk factors related to institutionalization and detection of delays in motor development and respiratory signs and symptoms.