Motor Skills for Kids Younger Than Six

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that there is no evidence that a child's motor development can be hastened or sports performance influenced by physical training during the preschool years. Most children follow the same sequence of acquisition of motor skills. This occurs independent of gender. During the preschool years, children learn to perform tasks such as throwing, kicking, running, hopping, jumping and catching. It is best to offer an unstructured and non-competitive environment in which a child can experiment and learn by trial and error on an individual basis. Specific skills can be refined through repetitive practice only after the relevant level of motor development has been reached.

Preschool children - fitness recommendations
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following:

1. All preschool children should participate regularly in a form of physical activity appropriate for their developmental level and physical health status.
   
2. Emphasis should be placed on promotion of physical activity as a natural and lifelong activity of healthy living. Goals of accelerating motor development to maximize subsequent sports ability are inappropriate and futile, and should be discouraged.
   
3. Free play designed to provide opportunities for each child to develop fundamental motor skills and to reach his or her potential at his or her own rate is preferable to structured sessions.
   
4. Readiness to participate in organized sports should be determined individually, based on the child's (not the parent's) eagerness to participate and subsequent enjoyment of the activity. Children are unlikely to be ready before the age of 6.
   
5. In structured sports programs, goals of participation and enjoyment should be emphasized rather than those of competition and victory. Sessions should be supervised by adults knowledgeable about the specific needs and limitations of preschool children. Setting, format, rules and equipment should be modified accordingly.
   
6. Pediatricians should assess preschoolers' physical activity level and time spent in passive activities, such as television watching, by incorporating relevant questions into the medical history during health assessment visits. Appropriate physical activity should be promoted by counseling parents, teachers and coaches.
   
7. Parents and other family members should be encouraged to serve as role models for their children by participating in regular physical-activity programs themselves. In addition, physical activities that parents can do with young children should be encouraged.

Organized sports sessions should be tailored to match the developmental level of the preschool child. Preschool children characteristically have short attention spans and are easily distracted. Therefore, exercise sessions should be short and emphasize playfulness, experimentation, and exploration of a wide variety of movement experiences.

Swimming safety tips
Swimming and playing in water can give your child much pleasure and good exercise. But you must take steps to prevent your child from drowning:

• Teach your child to swim once he or she is ready (usually around 5 years old).
• Never let your child swim in any body of water without an adult watching.
• Be sure the adult watching your child knows how to swim, where to get emergency help and how to perform CPR.
• Keep a life preserver and shepherd's hook in the pool area to help pull a child to the edge of the pool when necessary.
• Teach your child safety rules and make sure they are obeyed:
  • Never swim alone.
  • Never dive into water except when permitted by an adult who knows the depth of the water.
  • Always use a life vest when on a boat, fishing or playing in a river or stream.
• Caution your child about the risks of drowning during the winter by falling through thin ice.
• Don't let young children and children who cannot swim use inflatable toys or mattresses in water that is above the waist.
• Watch children closely when they are playing near standing water, wells, open post holes or irrigation or drainage ditches.

Bike-riding safety tips
Have your children wear helmets as soon as they start to ride bikes, even if they are passengers on the back of an adult's bike. If they learn to wear helmets whenever they ride bikes, it becomes a habit for a lifetime. It's never too late, however, to get your children into helmets.

There are many things you can tell your children to convince them of the importance of helmet use.

1. Bikes are vehicles, not toys.
   
2. You love and value them and their intelligence.
   
3. They can hurt their brains permanently or even die of head injuries.
   
4. Most professional athletes use helmets when participating in sports. Bicycle racers are now required to use them when racing in the United States and in the Olympics.

Childhood obesity
Childhood obesity affects a significant subset of preschool children. Studies of young children suggest that a low physical-activity level is a primary factor contributing to excessive fat accumulation. The large amount of time that many children spend watching television is of major concern and has been linked to an increase in childhood obesity. Children aged 2 to 5 years are estimated to watch 25.5 hours of television per week, which cuts significantly into time available for more vigorous activities. Therefore, parents of obese children and those with a strong genetic predisposition for obesity should take an active role in encouraging and initiating daily physical activity.