In Brazil there are at least 2.247 shelters for children and adolescents, and of these 5% are in the North Region. The conceptions of development exert influence on the care practices adopted and vice versa, both being mutually altered by the institutional environment. This study investigated the association between the conceptions of child development and care practices in a sheltering institution and the educators-child interactions in feeding situations. Participating in this study were 100 educators responsible for the daily care of institutionalised children, and who answered the Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory. The educators were separated into two groups, according to their performance in answering the inventory. They were later observed in their care practices. The data analyses show that personal and professional experience with children, more than level of education, may explain a better performance of the educators when their knowledge about infantile development was measured and in the quality of their care practices. It is concluded that the wider the general knowledge about these issues, the broader the use of practices towards orientation, stimulation, and attention to hygiene. Under such conditions children benefit, for these are practices which promote child development.