Motor Development among Spanish Preschool Children

Area of Science:

• Child Development
• Motor Skills Research
• Preschool Education

Background:

• Understanding factors influencing early childhood motor development is crucial for identifying potential developmental delays and designing targeted interventions.
• Previous research has explored various factors, but comprehensive analysis in diverse preschool populations remains valuable.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the motor development of Spanish preschoolers (ages 3-6) considering sex, age, only-child status, prematurity, and extracurricular activity participation.
• To identify specific factors that positively or negatively correlate with fundamental motor skill acquisition in early childhood.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Test of Gross Motor Development-Second Edition (TGMD-2) to assess 12 fundamental motor skills (locomotor and object control).
• Sample comprised 300 Spanish preschoolers (132 girls, 168 boys).
• Employed nonparametric statistical analyses to examine group differences.

Main Results:

• Significant sex-based differences in locomotor and object control skills were observed in 3-4-year-olds, but not in 5-year-olds for locomotor skills.
• No significant differences were found between only children and those with siblings.
• Prematurity did not show an association with motor development outcomes.
• Preschoolers engaged in extracurricular physical activities demonstrated significantly higher motor skill scores compared to their peers.

Conclusions:

• Extracurricular physical activities are strongly associated with enhanced motor development in preschoolers.
• While early gender-based motor skill disparities exist, they appear to lessen with age, particularly in locomotor skills.
• Further investigation into the specific types of extracurricular activities is warranted to understand nuanced differences in object control skills between genders.