Is my child active enough?

Dr Eileen Africa and Sharnay Botha - Kids are made to move - it’s a no-brainer. However, there has been a sharp drop in children’s physical activity levels globally, with Namibia being under the top 20 laziest countries in the world.

Ranking as the 13th most inactive country, more than half of (58%) Namibians are living sedentary lifestyles. The majority (90%) of boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 15 years old do not meet the recommended amount of daily physical activity (Hallal et al., 2012).

School-aged children should participate in at least three hours of a variety of movement activities per day, with the minimum being 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (HAKSA, 2018; WHO, 2019). Moving children are developing children. Movement consequently is a natural part of growing up and is necessary for the holistic development of your child. The latter includes their physical, social, emotional and cognitive development.

Importance of Fundamental Movement Skills

Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) are seen as the building blocks and foundation of physical activity.

The metaphor of learning to climb a mountain highlights the sequential nature of FMS development. Progression up the mountain is highly individualised, however, it follows a continuous process. This mountain demarcates developmental phases such as the reflexive, preadapted, fundamental movement skills, context specific and skilfulness period (Figure 1) (Clarke & Metcalfe, 2002).

The phases of development between 1 year and 11+ years are grouped as follows:

• Fundamental Motor Skill Period - basic movements that form the base for more complex movements (1-6 years).

• Context-specific Motor Skill Period - refined fundamentals (7-11 years).

• Skilfulness Period - skilled in a specific movement (11+ years).

FMS are gross motor skills that provide a base for efficient performance of more complex motor skills later on in childhood. FMS consist of locomotor skills, object manipulation skills and stability skills. Locomotor skills are whole body movements, such as running, galloping and hopping, whereas object manipulation skills involve the use of the hands or feet in handling an object such as a bat or ball, for example throwing, striking and kicking. Stability skills involve maintaining control of the body and this is important for all locomotor and object manipulation skills. These skills can be either static or dynamic (e.g. standing on one leg and hopping on one leg).

Early childhood is a critical time for the development of FMS, which usually mature around the age of 7 years. This serves as a building block for children to move into the context-specific motor skills period, to become more efficient in sport-specific skills. The peak of the mountain exemplifies the skilfulness period, which includes children aged 11 and upwards. So is it wise to specialise?

It is important to keep in mind that children develop at their own rate, and so parents and coaches should be conscious of this when determining readiness for sport participation. Therefore, children should not start with organised sport before they do not have a firm FMS foundation. Children are encouraged to participate in a variety of sports (gymnastics, swimming and dance) at this age, to determine which sports they enjoy and to learn a variety of skills. This allows children to gain diverse motor skills, which are beneficial in different sporting situations. Parents, teachers and coaches should encourage positive early experiences in physical activity, thereby instilling intrinsic motivation and a life-long love for physical activity and sport.

Tips to make family time active time

Getting into an active groove is not easy; however, it’s better to start small than not at all.

• Turn off the TV: Instead of catching a movie, catch a ball.

• Parkrun as a family: Turn your Saturdays into family Parkrun days.

• Lead by example, be an active role model - children are great imitators.

• Active, outside play: Throw a treasure hunt game into the mix. Playing hide-n-seek or even doing handstands in the garden are fun ways to be active as a family.

*Stellenbosch Kinderkinetics, Department of Sport Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University

KASSIE

References:

CLARK, J. E., & METCALFE, J. S. (2002). The mountain of motor development: A metaphor. Motor development: Research and reviews, 2(163-190): 183-202.

FOULKES, J. D., KNOWLES, Z., FAIRCLOUGH, S. J., STRATTON, G., O'DWYER, M., RIDGERS, N. D., & FOWEATHER, L. (2015). Fundamental movement skills of preschool children in Northwest England. Perceptual and Motor skills, 121(1): 260-283.

HALLAL, P. C., ANDERSEN, L. B., BULL, F. C., GUTHOLD, R., HASKELL, W., EKELUND, U., & LANCET PHYSICAL ACTIVITY SERIES WORKING GROUP. (2012). Global physical activity levels: surveillance progress, pitfalls, and prospects. The Lancet, 380(9838): 247-257.

HEALTHY KIDS SOUTH AFRICA (HAKSA). (2018). HAKSA Report card. [https://www.westerncape.gov.za/westerncape-on-wellness/files/atoms/files/HAKSA-2018-Report-Card-FINAL.pdf]. Retrieved on 12 September 2019.