Nature and nurture both play bit parts in how children master their movement skills.

Let's talk about movement skills. Lots of different factors help kids become better at sports, but do children benefit differently from organized sports and open play in the yard. Some research has tried to determine if they do, and the findings are interesting. This study looked at how children's activities at one age predicted how good they'd be at physical tasks three years later. The researchers kept the tasks in the study simple. They measured four basic movement skills and jumping sideways.  The study followed 627 children aged 3 to 11 over time and tracked their participation in both organised sports and free play.

Some of the results were expected, while others surprised researchers.  Naturally, kids that played multiple sports performed better in a variety of physical tasks down the line. To be specific, being involved in many sports led to better performance in jumping sideways, controlling objects, four fundamental movement skills, and locomotor abilities three years later. This was obviously in part due to the fact that the children's motor coordination skills were already active due to the large amount of sports they were participating in.  However, some other factors mattered too. It turns out that girls who spent more time outdoors during the week had better performances later on as well. Specifically, more outdoor time meant better jumping sideways, object control, and fundamental movement skills.  The connection between playing sports and motor skills was independent of whether they spent time outdoors.  This means that both structured sports and free play contribute uniquely to movement skills.  Boys spent on average more time outside but did not show this association, which might explain why active play in the yard is a predictor of motor skills for girls but not boys.  It is possible that boys have more opportunity to develop motor skills through other means that are less available to girls.  This is an area where more research would be useful!

Remember, kids need both structured and unstructured time.  It's important for parents to ensure that their children have plenty of free time as well as organized activities.  One is not necessarily better than the other.  What's better is a balance of both.

Motor skills are important for a person's physical and mental development.  An essential part of childhood is learning how to move your body well.   This is a skill that every child will use for the rest of their lives.

Little Kids and Lots of Movement: What Makes You Better at Sports?

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