How does movements contribute to the development of a child

Movement can increase learning in children

Kendra Moyses, Michigan State University Extension - May 30, 2012

Movement in children can help increase memory, perception, language, attention, emotion and decision making. Here are some easy ways to get your child moving!

It is important that all young children are physically active every day. In fact, physical activity may play a bigger role in a child’s development than previously believed. Research suggests that promoting movement and activity in young children can help increase memory, perception, language, attention, emotion and even decision making. When language is combined with movement, learning increases 90 percent. Movement has also been shown to help calm and promote alertness in infants.

Helping young children develop basic movement skills will not only help to increase their school readiness and school success later in life, it will also help them build a foundation for a healthy and active lifestyle as they grow. Michigan State University Extension suggests the following ways that you can promote movement and enhance your child’s development:

0-6 months:

• Gently “cycle” her arms and legs
• Let him kick at your hands or a toy
• Dance with her
• Gently rock or swing him
• Play peek-a-boo, moving his hands to cover his eyes
• Let her play with spoons, a rubber ring, a soft doll or small rattles that she can grasp
• Lay him on his tummy for “tummy-time”
• Play with him on the floor

6-12 months:

• Dance with him
• Let her explore by climbing or crawling (make sure she is supervised)
• Let him play with pop-up toys to help his hand-eye coordination
• Place a toy just out of reach to encourage her to move towards it
• Give him toys in the bath so he can practice pouring or squirting
• Stand her on the bed and gently bounce her
• Let him play with toys he can stack or simple puzzles
• Help her walk around without a walker

12-18 months:

• Take walks with him and talk about the things that you see
• Have her play with many different toys, such as shopping carts, doll strollers, small wagons and riding toys that can be pushed with her feet
• Let him play with toys that help him practice filling, dumping or stacking
• Allow her to play on safe, low places to practice climbing under, over, inside of, on top of and around
• Allow him to practice his new skills in many different places, such as inside, outside or at other houses
• Praise him for his new skills that he has learned

18-24 months:

• Allow her to play inside and outside with lots of room to crawl, walk, run and jump
• Allow him to play inside in a soft play area with lots of pillows, mats and mattresses
• Let her use large blocks, boxes and blankets for building forts
• Create a safe obstacle course for him to play on
• Allow her to play with crayons, paper, dolls and doll clothes, play dough, snap together blocks, small blocks and small toy figures that help her grasp
• Allow him to grasp, hold, pour, scoop and squeeze different safe materials, such as sand boxes, water basins and play dough
• Allow her to feed herself with utensils and hold her own drink
• Draw and write with him; let him watch you and help him
• Allow her to turn pages of the books you read together

24-36 months:

• Help him discover his shadow on a sunny day; try and catch it
• Help her practice kicking by allowing her to kick a ball
• Play follow the leader with him; let him be the leader
• Dance to music with her
• Spend time outside with him playing on playgrounds or with other children
• Help her build forts for play inside
• Allow him to do simple crafts, such as coloring, cut and paste or string beads
• Allow her to start dressing and feeding herself
• Allow him to help with simple chores, such as setting the table

By helping your child learn to move, you will not only help with their development, but you will also make sure that they are staying healthy and active. Developing movement skills early on can help promote a healthy lifestyle, learning and overall well-being.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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Movement Builds a Child's Brain

The warm weather has arrived and so has outdoor play. Learn how movement builds a child's brain power and how you can benefit too.

Most people know that physical activity helps children and adults to maintain a healthy body. However, did you know that movement activities build brain structure? Research shows a link between cognitive development and movement, meaning children need opportunities to move so they can learn. Rolling, crawling, skipping, and jumping, along with a variety of other movement activities, build the brain during the first years of a child's life. So, if movement is one of the most important learning components of a young child's life, should parents desire a quiet, sedentary little one?

At birth, a baby's brain contains 100 billion brain cells, roughly as many nerve cells as there are stars in the Milky Way, and almost all the brain will ever have. In the brain, nerve cells called neurons are present at birth and eventually form trillions of connections over the first years of life depending on the child's life experiences. These neural connections start to send messages to each other to meet the requirements of the body and brain. Compare this to posting messages to friends on Facebook or Instagram. If you send a message to 500 friends, and each of those friends, in turn, send or forward that message to another 500 friends, and so on, the messages or signals expand exponentially.

This messaging is important for the brain-body connection. The ability of the brain to develop and maintain neural connections is based on new movement and play experiences of young children (Choosy Kids, IMIL 2016). Brain cell connections are lost or pruned away as a result of limited activity or stimulation. "Move it or lose it" is true for both children and adults.

Researchers say that there are "windows of opportunity," or sensitive periods, in children's lives when specific types of learning take place. For instance, scientists have determined that the neurons for vision begin sending messages back and forth rapidly at two to four months of age, peaking in intensity at eight months. Babies begin to take much more notice of the world during this period. If a child misses this opportunity, that does not mean that the child will be impaired, but her brain may not develop circuitry to its full potential, or optimal development, in that area. The nervous system does not even mature until somewhere between the ages of 15 to 20, so families can continue to provide a variety of active play opportunities through those years to promote further brain growth.

Brain development does not stop after early childhood, but the window narrows, making it harder for adults to learn skills they missed during childhood. "It is a child's activity level and active playtime that determines his or her ultimate brain development and the extent of adult capabilities" (Dotson-Renta 2016).

Children need to move to activate the brain. And the brain responds in full force allowing them to move in a variety of ways including crossing the mid-lines. Songs like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and "Hokey Pokey" are examples of crossing the midlines of the body. Why are these action songs and the mid-line important for brain development? The motions to the songs encourage children to cross all three body mid-lines, reaching the top to bottom, left to right, and front to back. These physical movements demand coordination from both the left and right sides of the brain. This strengthens the tissues called the corpus callosum that divides the two sides of the brain that is important for communication from one side of the brain to the other. These movements help to develop and strengthen neural pathways laying the foundation for further development in language, literacy, and math skills.

Crossing mid-lines can help stimulate brain activity in adults too. Try this activity. Extend one arm straight in front of you. It doesn't matter which one. Point your index finger, and draw a large, imaginary figure 8 lying on its side, crossing left to right in front of your body. Run your finger along this imaginary figure several times. Now switch to the opposite arm. It may be harder since it is probably your non-dominate arm. Trace the same large figure 8 several times. This activity stimulates both sides of your brain and refreshes your thinking process. It might help you get through those long afternoon workdays.

There is one easy way that you can boost your child's brainpower through movement activities. Turn on your children's favorite music and have a dance party. Don't worry about moving like someone on television's "Dancing with the Stars. " Children are natural movers so follow their lead. It may be an opportunity for you to learn a new dance move or two. Take turns playing your favorite songs, too. Children get a kick out of dancing to Abba or Journey, and it gives you a break from children's songs the entire time. You'll have so much fun that no one will realize that you're building your child's brain!

Choosy Kids, I Am Moving, I Am Learning. 2016. "Moving with the Brain in Mind." Choosy Kids.

Dotson-Renta, Lara N. 2016. "Why Young Kids Learn Through Movement." The Atlantic.

Gabbard, Carl, and Luis Rodrigues. 2008. "Optimizing Early Brain and Motor Development Through Movement." Early Childhood News.

Jensen, Eric. 2000. "Moving with the Brain in Mind." Educational Leadership November. 

Little Folksters™. n.d. "Moving and Learning: The Body Brain Connection Babies to 5s."

Movement - Tarkvanem

Movement supports the physical development of the child, the formation of motor skills, helps to prevent the accumulation of excess weight. Physical activity has a positive effect on a child's mental health by reducing stress, creating a positive mood and supporting learning. The movement also promotes social health by offering a variety of opportunities to socialize with friends and peers, and to share healthy activities.

Children can be physically active under the guidance of an adult and on their own initiative. Adult-led physical activity is usually more intense, while free play and child-initiated physical activity are more imaginative and creative, allowing you to explore your surroundings and use your imagination. Both types are equally important.

The most important thing is that the physical activity should be alternating and varied enough for the child, involving, interesting, providing joy from movement.

To ensure good health, children should move at least 60 minutes at moderate to vigorous intensity every day. Moving more than 60 minutes a day brings additional health benefits. By moderate physical activity, we mean here activities that accelerate breathing and cause light sweating (brisk walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, etc.), and by high physical activity we mean activities that result in greatly accelerated breathing and there is a strong sweating (running, fast cycling, skiing, chopping wood, lifting weights, etc.)

Active movement can be formed from various physical activities throughout the day, such as movement and sports games, hiking, cycling, wrestling, strength training, participation in physical education or training. It is important to remember that must actively move for at least 10 minutes at a time !

The more time you can spend in the yard, the better, while sitting and screens should be given as little time as possible every day. Recommended screen time for children and teens should be less than 2 hours per day. Do not forget that physical activity and healthy nutrition are equally important for children, as well as sufficient rest and sleep.

Even though the physical activity of Estonian children has slightly increased compared to previous periods, only 16% of schoolchildren aged 11-15 years old still move enough daily (i.e. at least 60 minutes of movement of moderate or high intensity). Among young children, the recommended level of physical activity among boys aged 2-11 reaches 27%, among girls - 13%. Therefore, it is very important to encourage and support the daily active movement of children, offer them a variety of opportunities for movement, inviting them to play in the room and in the yard, thus reducing the time of sitting and screen time.

The role of adults is to guide and support children, to study with them. Here, the most important role is played by the parents, who can offer their child much more support in education, as well as by personal example form beliefs and habits in matters of movement.

The parent's own physical activity and the performance of active activities with the child directly affects the physical activity of children. Research has shown that fathers play a particularly important role in influencing children's physical activity and skill acquisition. Usually active parents have active children - try to become an example for children.

How to develop a child's speech through movement. Advice from specialists of the Yunona Center

Some parents believe that the child's speech is formed by itself and no additional efforts are needed for this. But this is not so. Experts insist that the level of his motor activity has a great influence on the overall development of the baby, including speech. Therefore, it is so important from the first months of a child's life to pay special attention to gross and fine motor skills. About how speech and movement are connected and how to help a child master communication skills with the help of exercises and outdoor games, experts of the Yunona Family Education Assistance Center tell.

Speech develops from birth

Contrary to the ideas of many parents, the development of speech in a child does not begin with the first word, but with the first cry at birth. Understanding of speech also develops before the baby begins to speak. Through sounds, he accumulates knowledge about the world around him: music, the rustle of leaves, the sound of rain, birdsong, etc. And from this variety, the child's ear gradually learns to isolate human speech.

« Read jokes, nursery rhymes, sayings, proverbs, tongue twisters to children. Develop your child's auditory perception, this will help him catch and distinguish many sounds and understand their origin. Simple exercises with a ball ("Roll"), a doll ("Shake"), a bear ("Dance") help the child develop auditory attention and coordination of movements, which will subsequently have a beneficial effect on the baby's speech ,” says Elena Tonkonozhenko, educator of the Center .

Active games are the basis of speech formation. Parents should support and develop the physical activity of the child. You can teach a child the basic types of movement - walking, running, for example, by combining exercises with verbal prompts. In such cases, the rhythm of speech helps to maintain the rhythm of movement and vice versa.

Motor exercises in combination with speech coordinate the movements of the child, develop auditory, visual, spatial perception. For example, the use of poetry when doing physical exercises helps the child to move more clearly, forms the rhythm of breathing, develops hearing and memory. Children generally respond very well to the poetic form, it causes them an emotional upsurge, and positive emotions ensure the effectiveness of classes.

The secret of a child's development is at his fingertips

« Scientists have proven that there is a close connection between fine motor skills, speech and thinking of a child. This means that any form of stimulating motor skills - massage of the fingers and palms, finger gymnastics, games with small objects, modeling, drawing - are very important for the full development of the baby , ”notes teacher .

There are many games and exercises to develop gross motor skills. Turns and tilts, walking on toes and heels, swings, squats, jumps teach the child to control his body. Rope games, throwing exercises and hitting the target help develop attention and eye. Dancing, cycling, scootering, rollerblading help strengthen muscles.

« There is a special relationship between physical and intellectual activity. A lack of physical activity can lead a child to apathy and unwillingness to engage in mental work, provoke a decrease in performance, weaken memory and attention ,” comments Elena Tonkonozhenko .