Learn more about being involved in physical development activities creates healthy habits and has numerous benefits for the child.

1. Keeping Toddlers
Active Boosts All-
Around
Development?

2. Keeping Toddlers Active Boosts All-Around
Development?
“Children think better on their feet than on their seats.”
— Mark Benden
Professor, Texas A&M University
(Ergonomics, Sedentary Behaviour, Physical Activity, Occupational Health)
Active children learn better. It is also a fact that physical development activities
not only improve a child’s overall health and fitness but also enhance a child’s
mental development and well-being. This in turn has a positive effect on a child’s
capability to learn and perform better when the time comes to join a formal school.

3. Being involved in physical development activities creates healthy habits and has
numerous benefits for the child. It helps improve confidence and self-esteem and in
developing healthier social, cognitive, and emotional skills. It is recommended that
toddlers are involved in physical development activities on a daily basis for a minimum
of 180 minutes.
Keeping Toddlers Active Boosts All-Around
Development?
An increase in movement and physical activity creates healthy habits. What parents
need to keep in mind, however, is the activities they shortlist should be interesting
for a toddler to want to engage. The absence of activities for physical development
in early childhood impacts their readiness for school, impairs social development
and retards academic achievement.

4. Children tend to struggle because of poor gross and fine motor development. Both these
skills are critical as they underpin hand-eye coordination and handwriting because this
includes the larger muscles in the torso, shoulders and neck, as well as the finer group of
muscles in the hands, wrist, and fingers.
Activities for physical development in early childhood improve gross motor control and
enables children to sit up, sit still, sit cross-legged on the floor, and hold their heads up for
extended periods of time, while fine motor control strengthens and supports extended
periods of written work.
If parents can teach their children to move well, they help them develop the motivation they
need to lay the foundations for a lifetime of physical activity and better mental health.
Keeping Toddlers Active Boosts All-Around
Development?

5. Before you begin planning play activities for your toddler, you first need to create a safe
environment where your child feels comfortable and is familiar with the surrounding. At this
age, toddlers are in an exploratory stage and will head towards wherever their curiosity
prompts them to go.
When you are setting up a play area, it pays to see the space from a toddler’s point of view.
See the world they will play in from their height and eye level. It helps if you can first move
through the play space by crawling or walking on your knees. This will help identify spaces that
might interest and tempt your child’s curiosity.
Create a safe space for play

6. Create a safe space for play
It will be important to consider how you place the furniture in the play area. As
toddlers are still developing their gross and fine motor skills, they may find it
difficult to navigate narrow spaces. However, a large open space may encourage
them to move fast, leading to trips and collisions. The ideal solution is to use
furniture that has round edges, toy organizers and other larger furniture items to
divide the space into smaller play areas.
It will be of great help to your toddler if you can organize play items where she can
find them easily. This will encourage your child to explore independently. Use
open bins where she can go through items and sort them out according to her
interest and what she wants to play with.
Remember, by creating a play area with your toddler’s interests and actions in
mind, you will allow her to explore and play in safe ways and add to her mental,
physical and social development.

7. Amongst the most effective way to ensure your toddler takes part in physical development
activities is by planning around the basic physical skills – for example, jumping, crawling,
bending, galloping, skipping and catching.
Involvement in physical activities from a young age has various benefits which go beyond
only physical development. It can help a child improve physically, mentally, socially and
emotionally as well. Identify three or four skills you want to focus on first, and plan activities
based on these skills on a daily basis. Remember to keep adding new physical activities to
this list on a regular basis.
Focus on developing basic physical skills first

8. Make sure interactive physical development activities for infants involve multi-sensory
activities that create an enabling environment for active learning experiences in a fun yet
creative way. Such activities will encourage and help your little one to be unique, resilient,
and confident. Engaging in physical development activities promotes bonding, teamwork
and a love of learning from an early age.
By involving your child in new and exciting themes, you will encourage her to be ready to
explore her emotions, interact with her peers, bond with her caregivers and lay the
foundation for strong and independent learning.
Focus on developing basic physical skills first

9. Tummy time can be made more fun and interesting for babies by placing
them on surfaces that have different textures, fluffy blankets, towels, and
play mats. Spread toys of varying shapes, sizes, and colours around the
baby. Place them just out of reach to encourage her to lift her head up,
look around, try to reach, roll and belly crawl. Don’t forget that you can
function as a piece of climbing equipment by lying down in front of her so
that she has to climb over you to reach the toy she wants. Repetition of
activities for a baby is good for her.
Ideas for babies

10. A toddler is always full of energy and sometimes you might find it difficult to
keep pace with her. Your toddler may love things that she shouldn’t play with
— crockery, TV remote, display shelves, plug points. (always make plug
points childproof by covering the holes with tape). Keep her toys, readily
available in the play area. Keep introducing a variety of safe household items
for her to explore — wooden spoons, pots, and plastic cups. Remember to
actively play ‘hide-and-seek’, and ‘peek-a-boo’ as these will always excite
your child to interact actively.
Ideas for toddlers

11. Think of combining learning with physical development activities. For
example, counting while doing hopscotch or skipping, playing ‘statue’ to
practice balancing. Pre-schoolers enjoy ball games that allow them to
learn to bounce, roll, kick, and catch a ball. They can learn these skills
by tossing a balloon into the air and giving it wack. Or practice dunking
a paper ball into a wastepaper basket. Consider involving your pre-
schooler in household chores; we may not enjoy it ourselves, but
helping out with the dusting, laundry or sweeping the floor is another
way to keep her moving.
Ideas for pre-schoolers

12. Toddlers don’t just magically learn all the skills they need just by playing. Parents can
help create a play-based curriculum so their toddlers will have lots of opportunities to
learn. Some skills can be taught, and these skills are also the ones that are needed to
play many of the games and sports later on to support an active healthy lifestyle.
Boost brainpower & enhancing cognitive ability
When you engage in physical development activities, the flow of blood to the brain
increases. This greater flow of oxygen-rich blood to the brain assists in the creation of
new brain cells, which helps to improve overall brain performance. It enhances brain
function and helps to focus, and improves memory and thinking skills, which are all major
milestones in a child’s developmental progress.
Physical Activity for Mental Development

13. Accelerate academic learning
A positive correlation exists between a child’s performance and her level of involvement in
physical development activities. This demonstrates quite clearly that toddlers who regularly
exercise develop a better ability to learn new things and are likely to perform better in school.
Physical activity triggers the release of active brain proteins which help increase levels of
concentration and decision-making. Motivating a child to learn more and apply what she
learns in positive ways.
Physical Activity for Mental Development

14. Stabilise moods & reduce anxiety
When a body is exercised, it releases chemicals called endorphins. These “feel good”
hormones trigger a positive lift to the mood. Children experience reductions in stress and
anxiety as these endorphins help to moderate the brain’s response to stress and elevate
feelings. When a child’s overall health and fitness improve, it also boosts her self-esteem
and gives a sense of accomplishment and positivity.
Develop and improve social skills
When your child takes part in physical development activities, it allows her to meet new
people and create new relationships, enhancing your child’s language and
communication skills. A different kind of bonding comes into play, giving children a sense
of belonging and companionship, with the potential to decrease loneliness and improve
their socialising skills.
Physical Activity for Mental Development

15. Taking creativity to a higher plane
Focused physical development activities daily stimulate brain activity, sparking creative
impulses and helping overcome mental blocks. Triggering bursts of creative thinking and
enhancing imagination. Hence it makes sense to engage children in any form of physical
activity, and then involve them in a creative activity, such as arts and crafts or creative
writing.
Maintaining mental balance
It is worth noting that young children begin to establish behaviour patterns from an early
age which has a bearing on their immediate and long-term mental health. Involving them in
multi-sensory programs helps create an enabling environment for active learning
experiences in a fun yet creative way. By engaging children in regular physical
development activities. from an early age, you are ensuring that they maintain a healthy
mind and healthy lifestyle in the future.
Physical Activity for Mental Development

16. Young children burn more calories through physical development activities than
any other type of action and make a positive contribution to a wide range of health
benefits. It also helps children to understand their bodies for what they can do
rather than what they look like. This helps young children to have a better body
image, self-confidence and a greater sense of achievement.
Physical development in early childhood is important to stay fit and healthy. Physical
play gets your child moving, from making big movements like running and jumping to
small movements like picking up a pencil or tying a shoelace.
Nurture lifelong habits

17. Physical development in early childhood is the growth and development
of both the brain and body and involves developing control of muscles
and physical coordination. This control is used in a whole range of skills
of daily functioning and encompasses a child’s ability to do a range of
different tasks, such as speaking, making friends and understanding the
world around them.
Nurture lifelong habits

18. Physical development in early childhood is the growth and development
of both the brain and body and involves developing control of muscles
and physical coordination. This control is used in a whole range of skills
of daily functioning and encompasses a child’s ability to do a range of
different tasks, such as speaking, making friends and understanding the
world around them.
Nurture lifelong habits

19. My Gym involves children in dynamic games, physical activity and movement that help in
building neural networks in the brain. Customizing its enrichment programs and workshops
to make it easier for children to acquire intellectual skills, navigate complex social
situations, and nurture emotional development.
Please visit any of our centres to learn more about how My Gym supports “whole-child
development” through bespoke physical activities. Choose a day when you will be
relatively free and come over with your child in tow. Your child could be an infant (as young
as 6 months), a toddler or a preschooler, age is not a bar for enrolling.
My Gym has perfected the art of developing physical activities to improve gross and fine
motor skills and has specially designed programs that will lay a firm foundation for
personal, academic and future growth by involving your child in age-appropriate structured
and unstructured physical activities and developing thinking and problem-solving skills.
About My Gym

20. My Gym Buona Vista
35, Rochester Drive,
Rochester Mall, #03-24/25/26
Singapore 138639
Phone: (+65) 6684 9220
My Gym Jurong East
3 Gateway Drive, Westgate, #04-
39
Singapore 608532
Phone: (+65) 6465 9205
My Gym Punggol
681 Punggol Drive,
Oasis Terrace, #03-02/03/04
Singapore 820681
Phone: (+65) 6787 1178
My Gym Tampines
300 Tampines Avenue 5,
NTUC Income, #05-05,
Singapore 529653
Phone: (+65) 6789 7061
Our Branches:
My Gym Parkway Parade
80 Marine Parade Road,
#15-03 Parkway Parade,
Singapore 449269
Phone: (+65) 6440 9916
My Gym Great World
1 Kim Seng Promenade
#03-106 Great World City
Singapore 237994
Phone: (+65) 6235 4070

21. Thank You