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Move to Learn, Learn to Move: Prioritizing Physical Activity in Early Childhood Education Programming

Chunlei Lu1 • Brandi Montague2

Published online: 25 August 2015

� Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Abstract The global childhood trend towards obesity and

unhealthy lifestyles is a growing concern. Childcare set-

tings have been identified as the most influential factors for

children’s physical activity, and physical activity habits are

better formed and maintained if started in early childhood.

As a result, early childhood education environments are in

an excellent position to enable physical activity interven-

tions, and are optimally placed to promote physical activity

in order to reverse the obesity and physical inactivity

trends. Yet, there is still ignorance and misunderstanding of

the role that physical activity plays in early childhood

education. The purpose of this paper is to review current

physical activity issues, to re-evaluate the specific benefits

from regular physical activity, and to offer guiding rec-

ommendations to improve physical activity in early

childhood education. Future research directions are also

provided. It is our hope that early childhood education can

play a proactive role in the development of healthy active

lifestyles, and that all young children can fully benefit from

regular physical activities for their health and wholistic

learning in all child care environments.

Keywords Physical activity � Early childhood education � Priority � Health � Active lifestyle � Learning

The majority of young children in developed countries

attend early childhood education and care programs at some

point prior to entering compulsory schooling. Neurobiology,

developmental psychology, and education research indicate

that early childhood education (ECE) is crucial to a child’s

future life success, and that no other period has more

developmental impact on a child than its first few years of

life (Burger 2013). ECE has an impact on children’s cog-

nitive, social, emotional and physical development (Barnett

2008; Craig 2012). Society has come to recognize this, and

to place considerable importance on the critical periods of

development in children’s early years (Craig 2012) by

calling for higher standards of quality in ECE programs.

The global childhood trend toward obesity and unhealthy

lifestyles is a growing concern, and has produced a genera-

tion of children that may be the first in history to have a life

expectancy shorter than that of their parents (Patrick et al.

2013). Physical inactivity has been identified as the fourth

leading risk factor for mortality: it causes an estimated 3.2

million deaths globally and is a vital contributing factor in

contracting noncommunicable and chronic diseases such as

cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes (World Health

Organization 2015). Overweight young children are more

likely to become overweight as adults (Cunningham et al.

2014), thus creating a perpetuating cycle of bad health and

risk of disease. Early childhood should be targeted as a key

time to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours, and it is criti-

cally important to children’s current and future health that

they achieve the recommended levels of physical activity

and limit sedentary behaviours during their early years of life

(Jones et al. 2013). Unfortunately, this is not currently the

case: although there are enormous known benefits of phys-

ical activity, most Canadian children and youth do not par-

ticipate enough to achieve truly significant benefits (Active

Healthy Kids Canada 2014).

& Chunlei Lu

[email protected]

Brandi Montague

[email protected]

1 Department of Teacher Education, Faculty of Education,

Brock University, 500 Glenridge Avenue, St. Catharines,

ON L2S 3A1, Canada

2 Koala T Care Daycare, Hagersville, ON N0A 1H0, Canada

123

Early Childhood Educ J (2016) 44:409–417

DOI 10.1007/s10643-015-0730-5

Childcare settings have been identified as the most

important factor in children’s physical activity (Finn et al.

2002), and physical activity habits are better formed and

maintained if started in early childhood (Kelder et al. 1994;

Reilly et al. 2004). Consequently, ECE environments have

great potential for effective physical activity interventions,

and are the ideal settings in which to reverse the aggressive

obesity and physical inactivity trends (Sterdt et al. 2013).

Yet, early childhood educators identify parents rather than

themselves as persons responsible for promoting children’s

physical activity (Wilke et al. 2013), and often falsely

assume that young children receive adequate physical

activity via their daily routines (Derschied et al. 2010). This

indicates that ignorance and misunderstanding of the role

that physical activity plays in ECE still exists. Thus, in order

to deepen the understanding of early childhood educators,

daycare workers, policy makers, and parents and caretakers

of young children, this article will discuss why and how to

implement physical activity in ECE. More specifically, this

paper will review current physical activity issues in ECE, re-

evaluate the specific benefits from regular physical activity

in ECE settings, and offer guiding recommendations to

improve physical activity within ECE programs.

It is important to recognize that there is a difference

between physical activity and physical education. Physical

education refers to an academic subject with specific edu-

cational goals using physical activity as a means, while

physical activity refers to bodily movement generated by

skeletal muscle that requires energy expenditure (Lu and De

Lisio 2009). Acknowledging the various curriculum and

pedagogies of ECE programs by using the term physical

activity is more suitable when discussing ECE, and can

complement a more wholistic approach to teaching young

children. Unlike physical activity, physical education is

normally taught by certified instructors; conversely, early

childhood educators are not formally trained or qualified to

teach physical education. Nonetheless, early childhood

educators can be considered qualified to implement physical

activity into their programs (Lu and De Lisio 2009). Addi-

tionally, literature and government policies regarding ECE

(e.g., the Early Learning Framework in Ontario, Canada)

usually adopt the term physical activity versus that of

physical education. Consequently, this paper will use the

term physical activity to describe the movement oriented

components that should be emphasized in ECE settings.

Issues in Current Physical Activity in ECE

Physical activity in ECE is traditionally regarded as a

primary means to develop children’s gross motor skills

(e.g., running and throwing with large muscle movement)

and fine motor skills (e.g., writing, picking up small

objects) (Reunamo et al. 2014). While meeting such

developmental milestones is important, the field of physical

activity studies has recently considered a critical approach

to battling the prevalence of obesity by fostering partici-

pants’ general well-being, promoting active lifestyles, and

enhancing academic learning in ECE. In spite of these

salient benefits, the functions of physical activity are not

fully recognized or understood in our current ECE

practices.

Children under the age of 5 are generally recommended

to have accumulated a minimum of 180 minutes of phys-

ical activity at any intensity in a variety of contexts

throughout the day (Australian Department of Health 2014;

Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology 2015; United

Kingdom Department of Health 2011). In contrast, studies

reveal that physical activity levels are actually insufficient

within current ECE programs (Reilly 2010; Temple et al.

2009). A recent study indicated that children in child care

settings in the United States only spent approximately

27 min in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA)

per day, which is far less than the 120 min MVPA per day

recommended by US national health standards (Henderson

et al. 2015). ECE programs that focus on having children

spend much of their time in sedentary activities are

potentially a result of fears of accidents or injuries that can

occur from physical activity (Reilly 2010). In other cases,

childhood education environments do not provide regular

physical activities due to factors such as: lack of facilities

and time; lack of training of educators; rules and policies

regarding safety; non-cooperative colleagues; a wide range

of ages of children; poor weather; unsuitable clothing; or, a

lack of communication with parents (Coleman and Dyment

2013; Wilke et al. 2013).

The views of early childhood educators with regard to

children’s physical activity may also play a role in the

amount of physical activity that is provided for children in

class. Educators who value child-centred play may be

reluctant to plan structured or guided physical activity in

their programs (Derschied et al. 2010), as many of them

believe that young children receive the appropriate amount

of physical activity in their normal daily activities (Der-

schied et al. 2010). This false assumption could be a

contributing factor in downplaying the need to program

quality physical activity into childcare settings. When

questioned about specific physical activity time in the

classroom, early childhood educators generally refer to

circle time, free play, being outside and music time as

opposed to any structured programs for physical activity

(Derschied et al. 2010). The majority of physical activity

occurs during outdoor time and free play, with minimal

direct physical activity (Reunamo et al. 2014). The prob-

lem, however, is that relying on outside time and free play

to fulfil physical activity requirements may only be

410 Early Childhood Educ J (2016) 44:409–417

123

sufficient for those children who are naturally active in

their daily lives. A further concern is that many early

childhood educators do not participate in physical activity

themselves, or fail to present themselves as models of

physical activity in their classrooms (Derschied et al.

2010). It has been reported that 72.1 % of early childhood

educators in Canada had no physical activity/education

courses in their formal training programs and only 2 %

could accurately report the number of minutes preschool-

ers should spend being physically active in line with

Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for the Early Years

(Martyniuk and Tucker 2014). Early childhood educators’

lack of formal training for planning and guiding physical

activity presents a concern that merits special attention

from developers of college programs and professional

workshops.

An additional challenge to prioritizing physical activity

in ECE is the tendency for early childhood educators and

parents to favour other learning domains such as literacy,

numeracy, and preparation work for formal schooling over

physical activity learning (Reilly 2010). This compromises

the students’ ability to have an optimal education experi-

ence, as research indicates that physical activity can in fact

enhance academic success (see the section ‘‘Physical

activity for cognition enhancement’’ below). Therefore,

early childhood educators and parents should re-evaluate

and improve their understanding of the importance and

benefits that physical activity in early childhood can bring

to future academic development.

Importance of Physical Activity in ECE in the Present Day

The ECE environment is optimally placed to prevent

childhood obesity and its related health problems, as this

learning forum has the potential to promote the benefits and

necessity of physical activity to young people while they

are still developing formative behaviours. Improving health

and decreasing obesity, developing active habits, enhanc-

ing cognition, and obtaining whole child benefits are

among the reasons why ECE must re-evaluate its priorities

and strengthen its physical activity component.

Health Improvement and Obesity Reduction

The aggressive global trend towards obesity and the

accompanying health risks have become prominent issues

in our society (Ebbeling et al. 2002; Statistics Canada

2012). An increase in sedentary behaviours and a lack of

physical activity are common trends in children today, and

contribute to health and obesity concerns (Active Healthy

Kids Canada 2014; Statistics Canada 2012; Vidoni and

Ignico 2011). Encouraging physical activity, especially in

young children, can help create a healthier society, because

physical activity habits can be promoted to prevent the

health risks that are associated with sedentary lifestyles and

obesity (Tremblay et al. 2012). In an alarming counterpoint

to the perception of many childhood educators, studies

have shown that parents report that they rely on child care

centres to provide their children with sufficient physical

activity for health benefits (Tucker et al. 2006). This factor

underlines the health challenges that result when some

programs provide minimal physical activity, expecting the

children or their parents to compensate for the deficit. It is

evident that the ECE setting is a crucial place where a

strong impact can be made on targeting obesity and

improving health.

Developing Active Habits

For many young children, their first encounter of regular

physical activity will occur while in child care. It is

essential to make child care centres places to enable chil-

dren’s positive feelings towards physical activity, in order

to set the foundation for ongoing active lifestyles. Physical

activity habits are more likely to be preserved if they are

established early in life (Abadie and Brown 2010; Kelder

et al. 1994; Reilly et al. 2004). Furthermore, young chil-

dren who begin living with sedentary behaviours are more

likely to carry this into their future lives, thus compro-

mising their ongoing health and well-being (Abadie and

Brown 2010). Experts have suggested that healthy beha-

viours are stronger if they are established before children

reach Grade 6—at which point their behaviours become

more difficult to change (Kelder et al. 1994). ECE has also

been found to be a critical period for fostering healthy food

preferences and developing sound motor skills (Larson

et al. 2011). Because a large number of children attend

ECE, such contexts are ideal for developing sustainable

physical activity habits (Coleman and Dyment 2013; Ward

2010). Given the potential that child care programs have

for building lifelong healthy habits in children, it is clear

that if they focus on developing quality physical activities

they will help ease societies’ health concerns for the future,

and improve the lives and health of the children they serve

today.

Physical Activity for Cognition Enhancement

Physical activity is sometimes perceived as having strictly

physical benefits; as a result, there is an assumption that it

can potentially reduce time needed for academic teaching

Early Childhood Educ J (2016) 44:409–417 411

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and learning. However, numerous studies have displayed

the beneficial effects of physical activity on brain devel-

opment and various aspects of cognition such as working

memory, attention, and self-regulation, all of which are

predictors of early and long-term academic success among

young children (Becker et al. 2014; Blaydes and Mitchell

2012; Evans and Rosenbaum 2008; McClelland et al. 2013;

Sattelmair and Ratey 2009). Conversely, a number of

studies show that physical inactivity influences academic

performance in a negative way (Chomitz et al. 2009;

Tomporowski et al. 2008). In fact, students are naturally

inclined to prefer learning in various and blended contexts,

such as: bodily-kinesthetic; logical-mathematical; inter-

personal and intrapersonal; musical-rhythmic; naturalistic;

visual-spatial; and verbal-linguistic, (Gardner 1983, 2006).

Therefore, it is pedagogically profitable to employ physical

activity as a teaching strategy for young children’s aca-

demic pursuits (Bjorklund and Brown 1998; Fede 2012;

Gaus and Simpson 2009). Further, movement-based

learning can also be regarded as an innovative approach to

helping young children comprehend academic content via

physical activity, as demonstrated in the model proposed

by Clements and Schneider (2006). (See the section

‘‘Taking the new approach to children’s learning: Learn to

Move, Move to Learn’’ below for further discussion).

Whole Child Benefits

The benefits realized from physical activity for people’s

mental health and well-being are not always recognized.

Yet literature suggests that people who engage in regular

physical activity display better health outcomes, feelings of

higher quality of life, and better states of mood (Penedo

and Dahn 2005). Active play can have a positive influence

on young children’s social skills and emotional intelligence

(Burdette and Whitaker 2005), and physical activity can

help children feel happier and has the potential to reduce

symptoms of anxiety, depression, and sleep problems

(Burdette and Whitaker 2005). Parents have reported that

physical activity interventions have created obvious and

immediate improvements in their children’s mood and

mental health (Burdette and Whitaker 2005). Children, like

adults, can be susceptible to feelings of stress; these feel-

ings of stress can be reduced by physical activity. There-

fore, children who are exposed to the benefits of physical

activity habits will be more likely to sustain them if they

realize at a young age how physical activity can reduce

stress and improve their feelings of happiness (Burdette

and Whitaker 2005). It is evident that children in child care

can enjoy multiple levels of benefit (e.g., physical, cogni-

tive, social, emotional) from pursuing quality physical

activities (Benham et al. 2014).

Recommendations and Considerations for Improving Physical Activity

This section will address recommendations and consider-

ations for improving physical activity within ECE. These

recommendations and considerations serve as guidelines to

improve the quantity, and especially quality, of physical

activity in ECE settings. They are meant to be of value to

policy makers, curriculum designers, child care supervisors

and owners, program directors, early childhood educators,

child care analysts and funding offices, course/training

developers, and other individuals and organizations that

work in the child care field.

Redefining the Role of Early Childhood Educators

in Children’s Physical Activity

Findings throughout literature have indicated that there is

confusion concerning early childhood educators’ under-

standing and perception of their role in children’s health and

physical activity. Early childhood educators should redefine

the role they play in establishing regular physical activity in

children, and should also leverage their ability to help chil-

dren develop a responsibility for their own health and well-

being (Reunamo et al. 2014). When making decisions about

budget allocations for child care centres, child care analysts

and funding agencies should remain aware of the influence

that ECE programs have on children’s physical activity,

health, andwell-being. Experts in physical activity should be

consulted by child care centres and funding agencies to help

choose appropriate equipment that will best benefit chil-

dren’s physical activity experiences in child care. It has been

demonstrated that making early childhood educators aware

of how salient their role is in children’s physical activity has a

statistically significant association with improved children’s

physical activity in the program (Lanigan 2014). Therefore,

it is essential to make early childhood educators aware of the

pivotal role they play in combating obesity and physical

inactivity in children (Child Care Canada 2015; Lanigan

2014). Ultimately, it would profit children immeasurably if

regulatory bodies (such as the College of ECE of Ontario,

Canada) and government bodies (such as the Ministry of

Education of Ontario, Canada) would implement profes-

sional development and policies to support early childhood

educators in optimizing the vital role they play in children’s

physical activity.

Emphasis on Enjoyment and Recreation in Physical

Activities

Humans are naturally primed with a need for regular

physical activity in order to function optimally as well as

412 Early Childhood Educ J (2016) 44:409–417

123

to prevent disease and prolong life (Hills et al. 2007).

Given this fact, early childhood educators may find that

children can be happier and more willing to learn and

participate when they are provided with activities that

allow for movement. Moreover, as young children are

generally not interested in competition or learning a

specific skill for quality performance, physical activity

programs should be recreational, simple, diverse, regular,

and safe (Abadie and Brown 2010; Lu et al. 2014). Further,

early childhood educators can provide physical activities

that nurture children’s enjoyment of being active. Enjoy-

ment in this context is defined as potentially long-lasting,

deep feelings of pleasure (Lorusso et al. 2013). Having

positive experiences about being active at a young age will

help children to continue enjoying and profiting from

physical activity as they grow to adulthood. Early child-

hood educators should be aware and make use of key

factors that contribute to the enjoyment of physical activ-

ity, such as: developmentally appropriate activities; the

influence of involving instructors or other adult partici-

pants; fostering feelings of success in young participants;

accommodation of children’s individual needs; interaction

with peers; and, ability or opportunities for children to

select activities that interest them (Douglas et al. 2014;

Lorusso et al. 2013).

Adult Participation

Adults may not realize the direct role they play in chil-

dren’s physical activity. Research has revealed that teacher

participation and enthusiasm have a significant impact on

children’s engagement and participation in physical

activities (Brown et al. 2009). Early childhood educators

must understand this impact, and become willing to model

healthy behaviours and to actively participate in physical

activities with their pupils (Brown et al. 2009). Supervisors

should encourage early childhood educators to be prepared

to participate in physical activity on a daily basis (e.g.,

having proper clothes and footwear). Early childhood

educators who are reluctant to participate in physical

activity themselves should be given the support they need

to become more comfortable with this expectation (e.g.,

being mentored, provided with professional training, given

support when planning physical activities, etc.). In addi-

tion, early childhood educators should also encourage

parents to actively participate in their children’s physical

activities at home, whether it be household chores and

games or community events such as family swim pro-

grams. This type of adult and parental engagement has the

potential to significantly encourage children to develop

active lifestyles.

Focusing on the Development of Physical Activity

Habits

Establishing healthy and active habits at an early age will

provide children with lifelong benefits (Douglas et al.

2014). Early childhood educators can help children estab-

lish healthy and active habits with a variety of approaches.

ECE is a place where children are introduced to routine,

and creating a routine that includes physical activity can

help foster healthy habits in children (Douglas et al. 2014).

Setting goals and focusing on enjoyment are helpful in

developing healthy habits in children (Douglas et al. 2014)

Early childhood educators should provide children with

choices, offer diverse and developmentally appropriate

activities, and actively participate in physical activities

with the children in order to foster positive lifelong habits

(Douglas, et al. 2014). Moreover, young children should be

exposed to a wide range of physical activities using a

movement learning framework that consists of three fun-

damental skills, four movement concepts, and five cate-

gories of physical activity in order to encourage children to

find activities that they enjoy (Lu et al. 2014) (see more

info in the section ‘‘Programming Physical Activities Using

the Movement Learning Framework’’ below).

Having a Clear Understanding of Education through

the Physical

A wholistic philosophy that may improve the physical

activity component of ECE is education through the

physical (vs. education of the physical), a concept which

dates back more than a century to the early development of

physical education (Hetherington 1910). Education

through the physical is intended to offer meaningful

physical activity experiences that contribute to the devel-

opment of the whole child, whereas education of the

physical only focuses on the physical aspect (Lu and De

Lisio 2009). The field of ECE should employ this philos-

ophy as a powerful framework that meets the needs of the

whole child, while providing enjoyable and positive

experiences of physical activity. As previously mentioned,

many young children will encounter structured or guided

physical activity for the first time when attending ECE

programs. Creating a positive attitude toward and enjoy-

ment of physical activity with education through the

physical helps children develop active habits that they can

continue throughout their lives. As the education through

the physical philosophy acknowledges the whole child (Lu

and De Lisio 2009), early childhood educators should be

conscious and attentive to all areas of the child’s learning

and development while teaching physical activities. Edu-

cation through the physical also encourages developing

Early Childhood Educ J (2016) 44:409–417 413

123

children to be physically literate in order to nurture active

and healthy lifestyles (Lu and De Lisio 2009), and thus is

an appropriate framework for early childhood educators to

adopt for physical activity.

Taking the New Approach to Children’s Learning:

Learn to Move, Move to Learn

If early childhood educators become aware that physical

activity improves children’s capacity to learn in all areas,

they may be more apt to prioritize it in their programming.

Therefore, training opportunities, such as professional

workshops, should be provided to early childhood educa-

tors to help them develop an integrated teaching approach:

learn to move, move to learn. Early childhood educators

should intentionally employ physical activities to benefit

children’s physical aspect (learn to move) while enhancing

children’s motivation, attention, focus, retention, and

engagement in learning (Benham et al. 2014). Equipped

with the understanding that movement can improve chil-

dren’s wholistic learning and wellbeing, child care leaders,

supervisors, and teachers can work together to create a

culture where physical activity is valued and promoted as a

part of the physical learning domain and also for other

learning domains, such as cognitive, social, and emotional.

To ensure that physical activity merits a prominent place in

the curricula and pedagogy of ECE, child care leaders

should encourage early childhood educators to explore

approaches such as movement-based learning, that are

innovative ways to teach children using physical activity.

Further, early childhood educators should be encouraged to

plan learning activities that normally take place in seden-

tary situations to involve methods that integrate more

movement and physical activity (move to learn).

Programming Physical Activities Using

the Movement Learning Framework

The movement learning framework is research-based and

commonly used in school physical education, and can be

adopted in ECE. It includes three fundamental movement

skills, four movement concepts, and five categories of

physical activities. The three fundamental movement (gross

and fine motor) skills are locomotion (e.g., running, hop-

ping), stability (e.g., rolling, turning), and manipulation

(e.g., throwing, catching). The four movement concepts

consist of body (e.g., body shape, body parts), space (e.g.,

directions, levels), effort (e.g., time, force), and relationship

(e.g., far-near, front-behind). Finally, the five categories of

movement are comprised of dance (e.g., rhythmic), gym-

nastics (e.g., ribbon, hoops), individual physical activities

(e.g., running, yoga), alternative environment physical

activities (e.g., playing in water, hiking), and games (e.g.,

chasing, soccer) (Lu et al. 2014). This framework is a

powerful guide to help early childhood educators when

planning, implementing, evaluating, and improving their

daily physical activity programs. It will assist early child-

hood educators in providing children with a variety of

physical activity experiences so that every child has

opportunities to find something they truly enjoy doing over

prolonged periods of time (Breslin et al. 2008; Douglas

et al. 2014). Policy makers and child care supervisors can

use this framework to set out expectations and standards of

physical activity programming at their centres. Further,

implementing this framework would make the transition

from physical activity in ECE to physical education in

school more cohesive.

Enhancing the Awareness and Professional

Development for Physical Activities

Initial awareness in improving physical activity in ECE is

crucial in order for change to take place, and necessary

training is one of the keys to improve children’s physical

activity in many ECE environments (Coleman and Dyment

2013; Tucker et al. 2011). Professional development can

help early childhood educators in the field understand why

and how physical activity can be implemented into their

programs. These professional development workshops, or

more extensive training programs, teach early childhood

educators key aspects of quality and developmentally

appropriate physical activity. The emphasis of professional

development should be placed on implementing the

aforementioned movement learning framework and the

theory of education through the physical. Subsequent

workshops and further education pursuits should focus on

empowering early childhood educators to integrate physi-

cal activity into their daily programs, and should highlight

the educator role in children’s physical activity and health

(Wilke et al. 2013). Additionally, childcare service super-

visors should help provide effective professional develop-

ment workshops and programs, create policies that support

physical activity, allocate budgets, and share resources in

order to promote quality and sustainable physical activity.

Barriers such as the false assumption surrounding chil-

dren’s daily physical activity levels and reluctance to

provide structured or guided physical activity can be

minimized with enhanced awareness and education (Wilke

et al. 2013). On a more comprehensive level, child care

centres should have support from relevant governing bod-

ies, in order to work cooperatively and cement the expec-

tation that child care can and will provide quality physical

activity to children.

414 Early Childhood Educ J (2016) 44:409–417

123

Conclusion

The optimal stage to proactively influence an active

lifestyle and promote physical activity in children is

undoubtedly during early education (Abadie and Brown

2010). Physical activity in ECE needs to be re-evaluated

and prioritized in the minds of practitioners in the field.

It is now time for quality physical activity to take

precedence as a goal and priority in ECE programs.

Early childhood educators must become active partici-

pators and co-learners of physical activity in their

programs.

This article has provided clear and comprehensive rec-

ommendations for improving physical activity in ECE.

Early childhood educators must see the opportunities to

foster healthy active habits in the children they teach and

take full advantage of it. The wholistic philosophy of ed-

ucation through the physical will help set early childhood

educators on a journey to providing young children with

the meaningful and enjoyable physical activities that are

essential for instilling a love for being active. Having an

understanding of the concept of learn to move, move to

learn will highlight why physical activity is so critical for a

whole child, and will allow supervisors and policy makers

to advance their understanding of the roles they play in

improving children’s physical activity. Practitioners should

adopt the movement learning framework that will ensure

that their ECE programs are rich in a variety of physical

activities, and that will allow individual children to find

their favourite physical activities for sustainable active

lifestyles. These recommendations can be enabled as long

as pertinent policies and training to improve physical

activity in ECE are established and endorsed by the proper

authorities.

With the necessary research-based support, child care

centres could exert an important, positive impact on young

children’s lives through physical activity, thereby benefit-

ing the children’s overall health and cognitive develop-

ment. Utilizing the aforementioned recommendations as

guidelines to improve physical activity in their programs

will allow early childhood educators to feel confident in

what they are planning and teaching. In order to increase

awareness at a source level, parents should be made aware

of the importance of physical activity for all young chil-

dren regardless of how fit they may look. Topics for future

research should include: considering how to include

physical activity as part of early childhood teacher edu-

cation programs; what content to provide in professional

development training; and what specific policies to

develop to support and facilitate regular physical activities

in early childhood teacher education sites. Further, case

studies on successful or exemplary ECE centres and

programs should be documented and disseminated in order

for the education population to gain insights into the pro-

motion of the physical activity for young children. It is our

hope that early childhood education can play a proactive

role in the development of healthy active lifestyles, and

that all young children can fully benefit from regular

physical activities for their health and wholistic learning in

all child care environments.

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