This document discusses the importance of physical activity and movement for young children's development. It covers: - Physical activity helps children develop physically, cognitively, and socially. It reduces behavioral issues and improves focus. - The document provides recommendations for age-appropriate physical activity levels for toddlers through teens. It also gives examples of activities at each stage. - Encouraging developmental movement in babies and toddlers through floor play, crawling, grasping toys, and outdoor time supports their physical, language, and brain development.

1. Physical
Fitness and
Movement
in Young
Children

2. Importance
of
Physical
Fitness

3. The Benefits of Physical Activity for
Kids During Early Childhood
Development
Any parent or caregiver will probably agree
that letting a child run around and play
throughout the day benefits everyone – and
there is plenty of science that backs this up!
Studies demonstrate time and time
again that children who are
more active on a daily basis
tend to act out less and
have an easier time focusing
on important tasks including
school work.

4. Physical activity is an essential element
of overall health and well-being.
Regular exercise has many short- and
long-term health benefits,
from reducing the risk of disease to
boosting energy levels to building
stronger muscles and bones. Education
on the advantages of
exercise and how to
incorporate daily
movement into our lives
is essential to creating a

5. Incorporating physical activity into
early childhood play is a fantastic
tool for helping a kid’s
development. Whether they are
at child care or preschool,
spending time on play-based
activities and games can pique a
child’s interest and
allow them to
showcase their unique

6. Regular physical activity also helps
young children:
* Build endurance and develop strong muscles
and bones
* Maintain good sleeping patterns
* Improve fine motor skills including balance,
dexterity, and flexibility
* Develop better social skills
* Maintain healthy habits into
adulthood
* Form a positive outlook on health,
including weight and diet
* Have more confidence in their
abilities
* And more!

7. Kids often have high energy levels they need
to expend to feel their best. Activities
involving active play let them engage in
critical ways for their physical and mental
development.
In addition to having longer attention
spans and fewer behavioral challenges,
physically active kids tend to do better in
school, too. Engaging in regular exercise
helps kids do the
following:
•Build strength, endurance and
flexibility

8. •Develop gross and
fine motor skills
•Achieve and
maintain a healthy
weight
•Decrease stress
levels
•Enhance social skills
•Develop strong
bones
•Boost balance and
coordination

9. On the other hand,
not getting enough
physical activity can
cause several health
issues for young
kids, including:
•Weight gain or
excessive body fat
•High blood
pressure
•Bone health
problems

10. Physically active kids
tend to have fewer
chronic health
issues and are less
likely to get sick.
They have a
significantly reduced
risk of developing
diseases or illnesses
such as:
•Depression
•Diabetes

11. Kids who get plenty of
opportunities to fit
fitness into their
schedules can reap the
benefits throughout their
lives. Integrating regular
exercise into their daily
routine is critical for
encouraging healthy
practices.
Explore fun and
entertaining ideas
for physical games and
activities for
preschoolers to help

12. Toddlers: Ages 2-3
Toddlers should be encouraged
to participate in about 60
minutes of physical activity
(active play) throughout the day,
every day. By this age range,
they will be walking, running,
kicking, throwing, and reaching
for just about everything they
can get their hands on.
Presenting them with
constructive opportunities to
practice these motor skills is

13. Preschoolers: Ages 3-5
Preschoolers, three to five years
of age should spend at least 3
hours a day being physically
active. Active play for children
this age should include fun
aerobic exercises like running
around, catching and throwing,
swimming, riding a bike, etc.
Aside from sleeping, preschool-
age children should not be
inactive for prolonged periods of
time. So the more opportunities
they have to be active, the

14. Adolescents: Ages 6 – 12
By the time children are
adolescents, they should be
engaging in 1 hour or more
of aerobic exercise and
strengthening activities daily.
They should be encouraged
to participate in more
moderately challenging
activities like playing sports
competitively, as well as
strengthening bones and
muscles by doing things like
jumping rope or climbing.

15. Teens: Ages 13 – 17
By thirteen and on, most
teenagers should
participate in at least an
hour of moderate to
vigorous physical activity a
day. By this time, young
adults should create an
exercise routine that
incorporates aerobic
activity like running,
swimming, or cycling, and

16. 4 Fun Ways to Encourage
More Physical Activity in
Kids
Parents and caregivers are
responsible for the
wellbeing of the children
they look after, so
encouraging little ones to
be more physically active is
important. Here are four
ways you can encourage
children of any age to
participate in more physical

17. 1. Make Exercise Fun
Every child will have their
own preference for what
physical activities they
think are fun, so it’s
important to talk with them
to learn what activities they
enjoy doing most. This will
allow you to incorporate
their interests into their
active playtime so they can
start building a positive
relationship to being active

18. 2. Get the Whole Family
Involved
No matter your age, finding
time to be more physically
active can have many positive
effects on your well-being.
Plus, with the whole family
focusing on maintaining or
improving their health, you are
also able to spend more quality
time together. Plan family
hiking trips, bike rides around
the neighborhood, or a day at
the pool swimming! The more
everyone enjoys the activity,

19. 3. Set a Positive Example
If your little ones see how
much enjoyment you get
from playing sports, cycling,
or any other physical activity,
they will be more apt to join
in or try it for themselves. It’s
also important to remember
to not put yourself down for
not meeting a physical goal
or losing a sports game. Set
the example of being a good
team player, as well as an
encouraging coach to
yourself and your kids.

20. 4. Provide Age Appropriate
Opportunities
Joining a sports team, or taking a
dance class or karate class are all
fun ways to get little ones engaged
in active play and develop
important life skills at the same
time. You can also provide
constructive opportunities for your
children to be more active
throughout the day, without even
leaving the house! By providing
them with active toys like jump
ropes, sports balls, bikes, scooters,
or Hoola hoops they will keep

21. Development
of
Movement

22. Toddler
exploring
picking
up
objects

23. Developmental movement
refers to the way we move in the first years of our lives; the
movement that helps us develop – everything from a new-
born baby’s reflexive movement of hands and feet, through
to a toddler learning to kick a ball and climb a climbing frame
and children developing the skills that they need to write and
and even read! Studies show that our developmental
movement is key to our development, both physical and
cognitive, as we move through childhood and into adulthood.
adulthood. Here we explore how we can encourage
developmental
movement in our babies and toddlers to
help them grow into confident, healthy
and active young people and then
adults.

24. Why is developmental
movement so important?
Years of study have shown
clear and direct links between
physical activity in young
children and their
development in a number of
ways:
•physical
•language development
•vision and hearing
•emotional development
•memory

25. Each developmental milestone
your child goes through –
rolling over, crawling, walking,
climbing – will provide vital
neurological sensory
integration. Through these
developmental movements
babies and children are
learning to touch, to hear, to
see. And as they grow, they
learn the developmental
movement ABC – attention,
balance and coordination.

26. How to encourage
developmental movement in
babies and toddlers
Much of our child’s
developmental movement is
reflexive and instinctive, from in
utero movements through to a
toddler’s innate desire to run,
climb and play. But there are
things we can do to enhance our
children’s developmental
movements, giving them the best
possible start in life. Much of
these will be things we do
naturally in response to our

27. Here are a few ideas for how you
can encourage moment in your
child:
For babies up to 12 months
•It’s really good for babies to spend
time on the floor, make sure that you
have rugs/ carpet or baby mat so that
this is comfortable for them
•Dangling a toy, soft object or your
hands in reach and within eyesight so
they can kick and grab it and track it
with their eyes and eventually head
when you move it side to side
•Giving them plenty of tummy time,
up to 30 minutes a day, encouraging
them to gradually lift up their heads

28. •When children are
beginning to show signs
of wanting to and are
ready to sit up on their
own; providing toys and
other child-friendly
objects of varying sizes
and textures they can
learn to grasp – e.g.,
rattles, soft rings (also
great for teething!),
spoons, soft toys – will
engage them.

29. •As your baby develops,
their tummy time will
evolve into the all-
important floor play.
Simply popping your child
on the floor is really
important to help your
baby learn how to push up
and explore how their body
can move along the floor. It
builds their core strength
and helps the development

30. •If your child bottom shuffles
rather than crawls, encourage,
but do not force them to crawl
through spending time together
in this position, creating tunnels
to crawl through etc. It is much
better if do children crawl in
some way, shape or form as
crucial movements, such as cross
lateral movement, eye tracking
from a head downwards
position and neck strengthening
from lifting the head, cannot be
achieved otherwise.

31. •Crawling can mean
traditional cross lateral
moving – different arm and
leg move together – or bear
crawling – where knees are
not on the floor – or
commando crawling –
tummy on the floor and
moving in this way. Many
children, when they first
starting to crawl, end up
moving backwards! They
eventually work out how to
go forwards too.

32. •Gently bouncing your
baby on the bed while
you hold their hands
will help them practice
bending their legs and
they will love the up
and down movement.
•Rocking, swinging or
even dancing with your
baby helps develop
their sense of
movement and rhythm.

33. •Stay away from using car
seats for any longer than
necessary – they hold
children’s spines in an
unnatural curved position
•Stay away from using
Bumbos at all for the
same reason as above but
also because they “force”
a child who is not
naturally ready to sit into
an unnatural seated
position

34. •Baby walkers (that
you place the child in
to be held) and door
bouncers all hold
children in an
unnatural standing
way, and whilst they
are not as bad as car
seats or Bumbos,
should only be used
sparingly if at all

35. •Wherever possible
ensure that when babies
nap then can do so on a
flat surface, so ideally
not in a buggy but in a
pram, not in a baby
bouncer but on a flat
mattress. This supports
the natural elongation
of the spine and doesn’t
hold them in an
unnatural “c-shape

36. Baby Feet

37. For toddlers
•Allow your child the
time, space and
freedom to crawl,
walk, jump, run, spin
round, push and pull
objects. Create a soft
play area, use soft
toys/ sofa cushions
to build so they can
climb, or an obstacle
course to navigate

38. •Give them plenty of
outdoor time where they
can develop an
understanding and
awareness of the sights,
sounds and textures of
nature. Kicking leaves,
jumping in puddles,
climbing on the play
equipment in the local
playground – it’s all a vital
part of movement and
sensory development.

39. •Give your child access
to objects he or she can
grasp, manipulate and
play with. Play dough,
sand, cardboard, water
– the wider the variety
of textures you can
provide that your child
can explore in a safe
and supervised way,
the more you’re
supporting their
sensory development.

40. •At mealtimes encourage
your child to be as
independent as possible
– touching their food,
using their own utensils
and holding their own
drink is not only hugely
important in developing
their fine motor skills,
but it also helps your
child learn about the
taste, texture and smell
of food.

41. Playdough Activity