Children who spend more time playing outdoors or participating in different sports tend to develop better motor skills as they advance through elementary school, a new study says.
Even a half-hour of independent outdoor play after a day at childcare makes a difference in kids’ motor skill development, researchers reported in the Journal of Sports Sciences.
Children also did better if they tried more than one type of sport, researchers noted.
“Engaging in two or more sports during early childhood education predicted better motor competence later in school age,” lead investigator Nanne-Mari Luukkainen, a doctoral researcher with the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland, said in a news release.
“Based on the results, coaches and physical education teachers should consider the importance of both organized and non-organized physical activities in the holistic development of children and encourage children to engage in diverse physical activities,” Luukkainen added.
For the study, researchers tracked more than 600 children living in Finland. The kids were ages 3 to 8 at the start of the study, and reached grades 1 through 3 during the three years that researchers followed their motor development.
Children who picked up more than one sport were better able to walk and run; had better hand-eye coordination; were better at holding, catching and throwing objects in their hands; and had overall better fundamental movement skills, the study found.
Likewise, kids who played outdoors more often had better fundamental movement skills and performed better at a test in which they jumped sideways.
The effects were more pronounced in girls than boys, possibly because boys tend to be significantly more active overall, researchers said.
These results jibe with previous studies showing that outdoor time and diverse physical activities can positively affect motor development, researchers said.
More information
Brown University has more on developmental milestones for motor skills.
SOURCE: University of Jyvaskyla, news release, April 4, 2025
