Een leven lang bewegen lijkt in de huidige maatschappij geen vanzelfsprekendheid. Kinderen hebben meer overgewicht, bewegen minder, doen meer zittende activiteiten, hebben een ongezonder voedingspatroon en lijken minder buiten te spelen dan een aantal decennia geleden. Naast de lichamelijke activiteit is ook de motorische ontwikkeling ven kinderen aan negatieve verandering onderhevig. Professionals in het onderwijs, gymdocenten, kunnen een belangrijke rol spelen in de motorische ontwikkeling van kinderen door de juiste randvoorwaarden te scheppen en hen hierin te stimuleren en ondersteunen. De grote vraag is alleen: hoe maak je de motorische vaardigheid van kinderen op een goede manier inzichtelijk? LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorishoeboer/
OBJECTIVE: Motor competence development from early to middle childhood is accompanied by great variance. This course can be influenced by many factors in the ecosystem. The objective of this study was to examine which individual characteristics are associated with an undesirable motor competence development during the transition from early to middle childhood. METHODS: A longitudinal study was conducted between February 2020 and May 2022. Actual and perceived motor competence and the potential determinants physical activity enjoyment, weight status, and organized sports participation of children ( 49% boys) aged 4-6 years old at T0 (N = 721) were measured at two points in time, separated by a two-year interval. Associations between potential determinants and AMC, including interactions with time, were analyzed using linear mixed-effect regression models with continuous motor quotient scores as outcome variables. RESULTS: Overweight, obesity, and lack of organized sports participation were associated with lower motor quotient scores over time. Multivariate analyses showed that associations of weight status (overweight and obesity) and sports participation with motor quotient scores remained significant after adjustment for variations in perceived motor competence and physical activity enjoyment.CONCLUSIONS: Excessive body weight and lack of sports participation from early childhood are associated with an increased risk of an undesirable motor competence development over time.
Objectives: The development of children’s motor competence (MC) from early to middle childhood can follow different courses. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to describe and quantify the prevalence of patterns of MC development from early to middle childhood and to identify undesirable patterns. Design: The study used a longitudinal design. Data were collected in three consecutive years, between February 2020 (T0) and May 2022 (T2). Methods: A total of 1128 typically developing Dutch children (50.2% male) between 4 and 6 years old at baseline (M = 5.35 ± 0.69 years) participated in this study. MC was measured with the Athletic Skills Track and converted into Motor Quotient (MQ) scores. To convert all individual MQ scores into meaningful patterns of MC development, changes in MQ categories were analyzed between the different timepoints. Results: A total of 11 different developmental patterns were found. When grouping the different patterns, five undesirable patterns were found with 18.2% of the children, showing an undesirable pattern of MC development between T0 and T2. The patterns of motor development of the other children showed a normal or fluctuating course. Conclusions: There is a lot of variation in MC in early and middle childhood. A substantial percentage of young children showed undesirable MC developmental patterns emphasizing the need for early and targeted interventions.
