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Children
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Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents Holistic Developmental Perspective
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Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents Holistic Developmental Perspective

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Global and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 July 2024 | Viewed by 9394

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Carlos Luz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal and Research Center in Sports Performance, Recreation, Innovation and Technology (SPRINT), 4960-320 Melgaço, Portugal
Interests: motor competence; health-related fitness; obesity; physical fitness and sports
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. An De Meester

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physical Education, College of Education, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Interests: motor development; actual and perceived motor competence; physical activity, and motivation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the early childhood years, becoming more competent in different movement skills is essential to engage in physical activity. Indeed, the ability to be proficient in a broad range of locomotor, stability, and manipulative skills can influence children’s lifelong physical activity habits and, consequently, their health status.

In this context, knowledge has progressed much in recent decades. Thanks to the joint efforts of different research areas, we now have a better understanding regarding the relationship between children’s motor competence and other motor variables (physical activity, physical fitness, perceived motor competence, strength, and some health markers) in several contexts (sports, schools, playgrounds). However, research is scarcely relative to understanding motor competence in a more holistic developmental perspective, encompassing variables such as nutrition, psychological variables, social relationships, and clinical health biomarkers.  

The goal of this Special Issue in Children is to highlight recent and new advances in this holistic developmental perspective related to this amazing period of childhood. The intended scope of the Special Issue is broad enough to accommodate different areas of expertise and research; therefore, this Special Issue seeks to highlight the relationship between motor competence and different variables, such as clinical health biomarkers, nutrition, quality of sleep and life, peers’ relationship, and even self-esteem throughout the lifespan.

New research articles, reviews, and case reports are welcome in this Special Issue.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Carlos Luz
Dr. An De Meester
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • children motor competence
  • psychological variables
  • clinical health biomarkers
  • social relationships
  • nutrition

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 810 KiB  
Article
An Effective and Playful Way of Practicing Online Motor Proficiency in Preschool Children
by Eleanna Adamopoulou, Konstantina Karatrantou, Ioannis Kaloudis, Charalampos Krommidas and Vassilis Gerodimos
Children 2024, 11(1), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11010130 - 20 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1431
Abstract
The children’s fairytale is a playful educational tool that can be modified in such a way to enhance motor proficiency. This study investigated the effect of an online exercise program with modified fairytales on children’s motor proficiency during the kindergarten curriculum. Forty preschool [...] Read more.
The children’s fairytale is a playful educational tool that can be modified in such a way to enhance motor proficiency. This study investigated the effect of an online exercise program with modified fairytales on children’s motor proficiency during the kindergarten curriculum. Forty preschool children (20 girls and 20 boys; 5.13 ± 0.24 years old) were divided into two equal groups: an intervention (IG) group and a control group (CG). The IG followed a 3-month (3 times/week) online exercise intervention program (supervised by the class’s kindergarten teacher) with modified children’s fairytales, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an aim to improve their motor proficiency. The CG did not attend any exercise intervention program. The Democritos Movement Screening Tool for Preschool Children (DEMOST-PRE), consisting of ten tests, was used to assess the children’s motor proficiency. Τhe IG, after the end of the intervention program, significantly improved in the DEMOST-PRE total score (p < 0.001; mean change: 40.7%), while the CG did not significantly improve in the total score (p > 0.05). Furthermore, in the IG, a significant negative correlation between the pre-training DEMOST-PRE total score and the percentage change following the intervention (r = −0.64; p = 0.002) was observed. A modified exercise program using children’s fairytales may be incorporated into the kindergarten curriculum as an effective educational tool for the improvement of motor proficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents Holistic Developmental Perspective)
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14 pages, 319 KiB  
Article
Relationship between Physical Activity, Mediterranean Diet and Emotional Intelligence in Spanish Primary Education Students
by Daniel Sanz-Martín, Félix Zurita-Ortega, Pilar Puertas-Molero, Rafael Caracuel-Cáliz, José Manuel Alonso-Vargas and Eduardo Melguizo-Ibáñez
Children 2023, 10(10), 1663; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10101663 - 07 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1022
Abstract
There is an international social concern about the low levels of physical activity among young people. It is essential to know what factors influence the practice of physical activity in order to design effective proposals for health promotion. The study aims to: (1) [...] Read more.
There is an international social concern about the low levels of physical activity among young people. It is essential to know what factors influence the practice of physical activity in order to design effective proposals for health promotion. The study aims to: (1) classify primary school students according to their levels of out-of-school physical activity, Mediterranean diet, emotional attention, emotional clarity and emotional repair; (2) analyse descriptively and correlationally the adolescents’ profiles of out-of-school physical activity, Mediterranean diet and emotional attention, clarity and repair. The study design was cross-sectional and descriptive–correlational. The sample consisted of 293 children aged 10–12 years in Granada (Spain). An ad hoc socio-academic questionnaire, the KIDMED test and the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) were used for data collection. Four clusters were identified by the Ward’s method and participants were classified using the K-means method. Subsequently, cluster classification was validated through the MANOVA test (F (861) = 106.12; p ≤ 0.001; f = 1.95). The strongest correlation was obtained in cluster 1 between emotional clarity and emotional repair (r = 0.56; p ≤ 0.01). In conclusion, the mean values of time spent in out-of-school physical activity, Mediterranean diet, emotional attention, emotional clarity and emotional repair of students are adequate and vary according to sex. There are significant differences among the physical activity levels of all clusters, as well as among the emotional variables of attention, clarity and repair. In addition, the correlations between the variables studied vary in each cluster. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents Holistic Developmental Perspective)
9 pages, 402 KiB  
Article
Developmental Coordination Disorder and Unhealthy Weight Status in Taiwanese Children: The Roles of Sex and Age
by Yao-Chuen Li, Yu-Ting Tseng, Fang-Yu Hsu, Hsuan-Chu Chao and Sheng K. Wu
Children 2023, 10(7), 1171; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10071171 - 06 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1344
Abstract
This study aimed to provide up-to-date information regarding the estimated prevalence of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in Taiwanese children. Their unhealthy weight status was also examined, as well as the roles of sex and age. This cross-sectional study recruited 825 children aged between [...] Read more.
This study aimed to provide up-to-date information regarding the estimated prevalence of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in Taiwanese children. Their unhealthy weight status was also examined, as well as the roles of sex and age. This cross-sectional study recruited 825 children aged between 4 and 12 years and categorized them into either typically developing children (TD, >16th percentile) or children at risk for DCD (rDCD, ≤16th percentile) based on the result of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children—2nd edition. Body mass index was calculated to determine weight status (i.e., normal weight, underweight, overweight, and obesity). The estimated prevalence of rDCD was 9.7%. There were significantly more boys in the rDCD groups (p < 0.001). Additionally, preschool children with rDCD were at greater risk for being underweight. However, there was no significant group difference which was found for overweight/obesity. A lower prevalence of rDCD was found in this study. Nevertheless, children with rDCD may be more likely to be underweight in early childhood. Early intervention should be provided to target this population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents Holistic Developmental Perspective)
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15 pages, 1476 KiB  
Article
Digital Devices Use and Fine Motor Skills in Children between 3–6 Years
by Francesca Felicia Operto, Andrea Viggiano, Antonio Perfetto, Gabriella Citro, Miriam Olivieri, Valeria de Simone, Alice Bonuccelli, Alessandro Orsini, Salvatore Aiello, Giangennaro Coppola and Grazia Maria Giovanna Pastorino
Children 2023, 10(6), 960; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10060960 - 28 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3162
Abstract
(1) Background: The principal aim of our research was to explore the relationship between digital devices use and fine motor skills in children aged three to six years and to explore the effect of some socio-demographic factors. (2) Methods: we enrolled 185 children [...] Read more.
(1) Background: The principal aim of our research was to explore the relationship between digital devices use and fine motor skills in children aged three to six years and to explore the effect of some socio-demographic factors. (2) Methods: we enrolled 185 children aged between three to six years. The parents of all the participants fulfilled a questionnaire to explore the digital device use, and their children performed a standardized test to assess fine motor skills (APCM-2). We performed the Spearman correlation test to explore the relationship between different variables. (3) Results: the children spent an average of 3.08 ± 2.30 h/day on digital devices. We did not find a significant association between the time of use of digital devices and fine motor skills (p = 0.640; r = −0.036). The youngest children experienced digital tools earlier than older ones (p < 0.001; r = 0.424) and they were also the ones who used digital tools more time afterwards (p = 0.012; −0.202). The children who had working parents spent more time on digital devices (p = 0.028; r = 0.164/p = 0.037; r = 0.154) and used digital devices earlier (p = 0.023; r = 0.171). (4) Conclusions: This data suggest that it would be useful to monitor the use of digital tools, especially in the very first years of life. Future studies are needed to further explore this topic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents Holistic Developmental Perspective)
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8 pages, 261 KiB  
Article
Relationship between Perceived Physical Competence and Outdoor Play among Children Aged 9–12 Years-Focused Sex-Specific Differences
by Ryo Goto, Kazufumi Kitagaki, Kana Horibe, Kazuya Tamura, Naoki Yamada and Rei Ono
Children 2023, 10(1), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10010135 - 10 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1492
Abstract
Background: Outdoor play (OP), which is considered important for children’s development, is declining every year. Perceived physical competence (PPC) is a vital factor that promotes physical activity such as OP, sports clubs, etc., but the relationship between PPC and OP was unknown. The [...] Read more.
Background: Outdoor play (OP), which is considered important for children’s development, is declining every year. Perceived physical competence (PPC) is a vital factor that promotes physical activity such as OP, sports clubs, etc., but the relationship between PPC and OP was unknown. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between PPC and OP in children and consider whether there were any sex-specific changes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Japan with 288 children (134 girls, age: 10.6 ± 1.01 years). OP was assessed using an original self-report questionnaire. Each weekday, the children reported the time of OP and were classified as “high” if they played outside for at least an hour three times. PPC was evaluated with a self-report questionnaire developed by Okazawa et al. (1996). It has 12 questions and was assessed on a 5-point Likert scale. After adjusting for age, sex, BMI, screen time, sports club participation, and the number of friends, logistic regression analyses were carried out. Results: Children with better PPC were significantly more likely to be classified as “high” [crude odds ratio (OR): 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00–1.08; adjusted OR: 1.04; 95% CI: 1.00–1.08]. Only girls with better PPC were significantly more likely to be classified as “high” in a sex-based stratified analysis [crude OR: 1.08; 95% CI: 1.01–1.15, adjusted OR 1.09; 95% CI: 1.02–1.17]. Conclusions: Particularly among girls, OP could be promoted as a voluntary physical activity with improved PPC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents Holistic Developmental Perspective)
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