A concern addressed in this research relates to the decline over the past decade in children's motor competence (MC), or mastery of physical skills and movement patterns which enable them to participate in and enjoy physical activities. The decline in children's MC may be due to their decreasing physical activity and changes in their living environment, which have also occurred over the past decade. This study addressed these concerns by investigating the associations between children's physical living environment with their MC, the amount of time spent outdoors, and their participation in organized sports.
Over 900 young children (age 3-7) from 37 childcare centers participated in this study. The centers were located in three different geographical areas of Finland – Southern, Central, and Northern. The postal codes of the childcare centers were used to categorize each center according to geographical location (Southern, Central and Northern Finland) and residential density (metropolitan area, city, rural area and countryside). Each child completed a MC assessment (the TGMD-3) which measures two skill categories: locomotor (LM) skills and object control (OC) skills. Parents completed a questionnaire focusing on the time their children spent outdoors and their children's participation in organized sports.
Results showed no differences in LM or OC skills or overall MC development among children from the three different geographical locations. Findings did show, however, that children from Central Finland spend more time outdoors than children from Southern or Northern Finland. Central Finland differs from these other two regions of the country by having many small cities and a considerable amount of unbuilt spaces and nature elements (hills, lakes and forests) around people's everyday living environment. Mean temperature and daylight hours did not predict time outdoors, in contrast to typical thinking about weather as a barrier to outdoor recreation. Areas where children spent less time outdoors were high population density environments. Higher population density was also associated with lower MC. Children from the countryside had better MC and spent most time outdoors. Children from the metropolitan area were more likely to engage in organized sports. There were some gender differences, with boys having lower LM skills, better OC skills and a better MC total score than girls. Boys also spent more time outdoors than girls. The overall findings showed a positive association between time spent outdoors and participation in organized sports with MC. Children from the countryside, however, were least likely to participate in organized sports, yet had comparatively high MC scores. This finding indicates that children from the countryside were not disadvantaged by their lack of participation in organized sports.
The main finding of this research was that residential density was more strongly associated with MC, time spent outdoors, and participation in organized sports than geographical location. This research indicates that the environment matters for children's motor development. The findings are consistent with the understanding that motor development benefits from environmental affordances available to children in their everyday living environments. In this context, it's understood that playing outdoors in a physical environment that provides the affordances needed for physical activity motivates and supports motor development.
Research Partner