I Move We Move - Good For Kids - NSW Government

Developmental appropriateness
To ensure that opportunities for children to be physically active and acquire movement skills are
developmentally appropriate, consideration need to be given to the age of the child, their cultural
background and also the appropriateness of your guidance or instruction 2 .
Age appropriate
As is the case for other learning areas in early childhood education, physical activity and movement
skills should be considered according to the children’s age 2 .
Babies (birth to 1 year of age)
Babies should be encouraged to be as active as possible in a safe, supervised, minimally structured
and nurturing play environment. For younger babies; who haven't yet learnt how to roll or crawl,
physical activity can be encouraged via independent movements such as reaching and grasping,
pulling and pushing, movement of their head, body and limbs during daily routines, and participation
in supervised floor-play, including tummy time 6 . As babies learn to control their neck and head first,
tummy time is important as it gives baby the opportunity to explore and strengthen what their
bodies can do 15,17 .
Being gently moved through space or watching stimuli that are in motion activates their senses and
helps them learn about movement 15 . Examples include baby watching bubbles in the air or being laid
across an adult's lap and held as the adult slowly moves their legs to move baby in various directions 15,18 .
Once a baby is mobile, the type of physical activity expands to include creeping and crawling. Creeping
and crawling are movements where baby crosses the midline of the body. This is where an eye, hand
or foot of one side of the body is used in the space of the other eye, hand or foot. It encourages
brain development through communication between the two hemispheres of the brain 15,17 .
Adult guided developmental movement activities for babies will mostly be one on one interactions
e.g. as a focus child experience or during care giving. However, for babies that are crawling, the
room could be set-up to encourage and extend them to move and explore. For example place
cushions, toys and/or chairs around their room for babies to crawl over, around, through or under.
Toddlers and preschoolers
Children aged 1 to 5 years old should be physically active every day for at least three hours in short
bursts spread throughout the day6 . How much time children spend being physically active at their
early childhood service will depend on the unique characteristics of the children, families, staff and the
context in which your service operates (e.g. number of daylight hours children are in attendance).
Physical activity for these age groups should occur primarily through physically active play but
also as part of games, transportation, leisure, and planned activities6. Adult guided fundamental
movement skills learning experiences could involve participation by children in large groups, small
groups, pairs or as an individual activity.
For toddlers (1 to 3 years of age) learning to cross the midline of the body is extended from crawling
to walking and climbing stairs, and some initial exploration of throwing, catching, striking and
kicking of balls is appropriate.
For preschoolers (3 to 5 years of age) eye-hand and eye-foot movements such as throwing,
catching and kicking balls which involve crossing the midline are further developed in this age
group, as well as locomotor skills such as hopping, jumping and skipping. Exploring these and
other fundamental movement skills continues to enhance brain development.
For more information and ideas see Sections Four and Five of The Guide
and The Physical Activity Handbooks.
I Move We Move, The Guide Edition 1 August 2009
AREA HEALTH SERVICE
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