Movement and Physical Development in Early Years

Stretch. Bend. Jump. Turn. Why Movement Matters for Life

If you go to a ballet, it can look extraordinarily complicated. Yet if you strip away the music, costumes, choreography, and look at the movement itself, much of what we see can be broken down into four simple actions: a stretch, a bend, a jump and a turn.

These are movements young children instinctively explore. They stretch to reach something interesting, bend to investigate the floor, jump because there is something exciting to jump over and turn simply because spinning feels wonderful.

As a movement teacher, I have spent many years watching what happens when we slow these movements down, repeat them and, importantly, give children a reason to do them.

A stretch can become placing a dino egg back in the arms of a gigantic dino mummy. A bend becomes ducking underneath a bridge when a dragon flies over. A jump becomes leaping over the Amazon River, avoiding all the hungry piranhas. A turn becomes swirling through the air like a snowflake at the North Pole on our search for Father Christmas.

The fundamental movement remains the same, but imagination changes the experience.

Movement needs time

Fundamental movement skills, including running, jumping, balancing, throwing and catching, provide important foundations for children’s physical development.

But perhaps we sometimes move too quickly towards the finished skill.

Children need opportunities to explore movement, repeat it and discover how their bodies work. And repetition doesn’t have to mean doing exactly the same thing over again, and again.

We can repeat a movement at different speeds, at different levels and in different directions. Imagination allows us to practise the same skill within countless situations.

We might jump over a puddle today, leap between rocks tomorrow and blast off from the Moon next week.

The child is still practising how to jump, but it doesn’t feel like practice.

Don’t forget the middle!

Before we get too excited about jumping and skipping, there is another important piece of the movement puzzle - core strength and postural stability!

Children need postural strength and stability to hold themselves upright, control their head and body, maintain balance and coordinate their arms and legs. Those foundations support everything from sitting and reaching to running, jumping and eventually skipping.

We’ve probably all watched a young child enthusiastically launch themselves into a jump… only to discover that their top half and bottom half hadn’t quite agreed on the plan.

Cue the faceplant!

It’s a funny moment (once we know they’re okay!), but it reminds us that a jump is much more than two feet leaving the floor. The child has to bend (push down to go up), generate force, organise their body in the air and then control the landing - all while keeping their balance.

So before worrying about how high or how far a child can jump, give them plenty of opportunities to strengthen the foundations: reaching, crawling, climbing, balancing, pushing, pulling, twisting, bending, and moving in lots of different ways.

Sometimes the skills we can’t immediately see are the ones making the visible movement possible.

Try this with your team…

Ask one person to teach another adult how to skip - without demonstrating it.

Words only!

Explain what one foot does. Then the other. Explain the transfer of weight, the travelling, and the rhythm. Now add the arms, moving in opposition to the lifted leg - and remember, you're still not allowed to demonstrate!

It is surprisingly difficult.

Yet we can sometimes expect a 3- or 4-year-old, whose balance, coordination, body awareness and language are all still developing, to understand a movement simply because we ask them to do it.

Children need opportunities to see movement, experience it, repeat it, and gradually discover what it feels like within their own bodies.

That is particularly worth considering for children with additional needs, children learning English as an additional language and children who process spoken instructions differently.

Movement has a vocabulary too

Movement also provides wonderful opportunities for developing language.

Think about the words:

over, under, around, through, high, low, fast, slow, stretch, squeeze, creep, stomp.

We can explain what under means or show a child a picture.

But what happens when that child becomes an explorer and crawls under a soft, furry Red Panda Bear’s tummy to keep warm while exploring Mount Everest?

The word suddenly has a physical experience attached to it.

Combine movement with stories, rhythm, repetition, gesture, and imaginative play, and children hear language while experiencing its meaning through their bodies.

Movement and communication don’t need to sit in separate boxes. Movement can be one of the ways through which children discover language.

What is happening in the brain?

While all this jumping, stretching and pretending is happening, the developing brain is extraordinarily busy.

Children’s brains continually develop and refine networks in response to their experiences. Myelin is a protective insulating material around many nerve fibres that helps signals travel efficiently through the nervous system. Think of it a little like superfast broadband for the brain.

We shouldn’t simplify this to say that repeating a movement simply ‘creates myelin’. Brain development is far more complex than that. But repeated, meaningful experiences are an important part of how children learn and refine skills.

Think about what the brain may be processing during one simple movement: balance, body position, vision, touch, sound, timing, memory, language and emotion.

That little jump over an imaginary puddle is actually rather impressive!

Participation doesn’t have to look the same

One of the things I love most about movement is that there doesn’t have to be only one way to participate.

One child might jump over our imaginary puddle. Another might step across it. Another might lift their arms and imagine flying across. A child with complex physical needs might experience the rhythm, anticipate what happens next or make a movement that is achievable for them.

Different does not mean less.

Our role isn’t always to make every child perform an identical movement. It is to create opportunities where children can participate, explore and experience movement in ways that are meaningful for them.

Sometimes that means slowing down. Watching. Repeating. Changing the story. Trying another way.

Before asking, “Why can’t this child do it?”, perhaps we could ask:

“Have I given this child enough different ways to experience it?”

And movement doesn’t stop mattering when childhood ends

There is an even bigger picture.

Movement isn’t something we need only while our bodies and brains are young.

Recent interest in dance and healthy ageing has highlighted research into the potential relationship between dance and cognitive health.

Think about what happens when we learn a dance. We listen to music, remember sequences, coordinate our arms and legs, transfer our weight, balance, respond to rhythm, change direction and navigate the space around us - often while interacting with other people.

Our bodies are moving, but our brains are working too.

Research into dance and older adults, including those with mild cognitive impairment and dementia, is promising, with studies reporting potential benefits for areas including cognition, memory, balance and wellbeing. It is an evolving field, so we cannot say that dancing prevents dementia, but it gives us another fascinating reason to consider the value of movement throughout life.

Perhaps, then, movement deserves a little more space in childhood.

Not simply because we want children to become good at running, jumping or catching.

But because through movement they are discovering their bodies, exploring language, building confidence, connecting with others, using their imaginations and learning about the world around them.

So get ready to…. Stretch. Bend. Jump. Turn.

And then do it all again tomorrow - just imagine somewhere completely different next time.

Movement isn’t just for childhood. It is for life.

What Parenta Has to Offer

If this has got you thinking about how movement shapes every part of a child's development, our childcare courses cover physical development alongside the full breadth of early years practice, helping you build the confidence and knowledge to support every child in your setting. Give our friendly team a call on 0800 002 9242 to find out more.

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We'd love to hear from you: how do you currently build movement into your setting's daily routine, and what has helped a reluctant child join in? Share your ideas in the comments below.