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Week 3: Supporting the development of children’s movement skills

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This infographic defines physical literacy and the associated benefits. At the top of the infographic there is a box that states physical components and a definition underneath that states: “Development of Movement through ‘Positive Movement Experiences’: Need to learn the fundamentals and build a diverse set of movements through the development of:”. There are then various physical components that an athlete needs to learn to become physically competent. These are:

A printable download of this infographic is available in the Further resources section at the end of this week.

  • Body and spatial awareness
  • Ability to sequence movements
  • Ability to select movements for each task and context
  • Ability to apply a strategy to adapt and modify movements based on the task and context and this can be broken into the social context (i.e. participating in a team or as an individual) and environment in which the movements take place (i.e. performing movements on land, in the air, in water, on snow, or on ice).

Each of these has an arrow connecting them to the term ‘physical competence’. From physical competence there are two arrows that join to the physical and performance benefits of being physically competent. These are:

  • Increased strength, flexibility, mobility, endurance, agility
  • Increased ability to problem solve and be creative in sport and fitness contexts.

There are also five psychosocial benefits connected by arrows that result from being physically competent. These are:

  • Increased cognitive function
  • Increased confidence
  • Increased motivation to participate
  • Increased ability to communicate and express feelings and emotions. An arrow also connects from the social context of the movements (i.e. is it performed in a team or individual context) to this psychosocial benefit.
  • Decreased levels of anxiety towards physical activity.

From the increased motivation to participate there are further benefits that are connected by arrows. These include the high-level physical benefits of increased participation across the lifespan. This then leads to the following physical benefits:

  • Increased understanding of how to get fit and stay healthy
  • Decreased health and injury risks
  • Increased fitness

And to one further psychosocial benefit of increased mental health, e.g. self-esteem and happiness.