P0180 - Generation of a Motor Development Tracker for Evaluation of Physical Literacy in 3- to 5-year-old Children

Introduction: The early development of motor skills in children is imperative for physical confidence in later years. The development of fundamental movement skills is vital for physical literacy and perceived confidence in motor skills. Gross motor skills like crawling and walking are clearly defined, however, motor skill benchmarks become less established as children get older. Familiarizing physicians, parents, and physical education instructors on gross motor and development skills and their age-related competencies will provide the opportunity to optimize the health and wellness of children. Moreover, mastering fundamental skills paves the way for more complex motor movements and empowers children to engage in active lifestyles as they age.

Objective: To examine age-related competencies of gross motor and development skills for males and females ages 3-5.

Methods: This retrospective review assessed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey’s Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD) which included 350 males and females between the ages of 3-5 in the United States. The children were scored on a scale of 0-2 for twelve different motor skills such as running, catching, galloping, throwing, etc. Each motor skill is represented by up to 5 defined criteria. Children were given a score of zero, one, or two points depending on their ability to complete each of the movement skills. The data were separated by gender and age. The percentage of scores per age and gender group was calculated for each motor skill. Chi-square analysis was performed on ages 3 vs 4, 4 vs 5, and 3 vs 5 with a p-value ≤0.05 to assess significance. Descriptions of motor milestones were simplified and step-by-step photographic representations of each movement were formulated into a tool. Age related motor competencies were highlighted.

Results: Females outperformed males in the development of locomotor skills and males slightly exceeded females in object control skill development by age 5. We defined a milestone as ≥75% mastery of a skill. Males showed mastery of 22 criteria and females showed mastery of 32 criteria between ages 3-5.

Conclusion: This study reveals age-related competencies of common gross and motor development skills in children ages 3-5. It confirms that several motor skills are developed between these ages and exhibit sex and gender-specific differences. Ultimately, those who lack these skills may fall behind their peers in their development of fundamental movement skills and physical literacy. A tool as developed above can identify those at risk and lead to earlier intervention. Future research aims to survey parents that utilize this assessment tool.